One of the gems so far of the summer concerts season was the performance of Chris Isaak and his band who played Artpark this past Tuesday night. The show was originally was supposed to take under the stars on the outdoor stage but was moved indoors to their mainstage. This was due to a forecast of heavy rain and thunderstorms (which did come at the end of the performance). It’s nice that Artpark can even offer this option to its ticket buyers. The seating area was pretty much filled with the ticket buyers and the back walls were open for people to enjoy sitting on the lawn if they chose to do so.
American singer songwriter Marc Brossard opened the show. He played a short 20-minute set with songs that sounded like a mix of soul, funk, pop and blues. Brossard has soulfulness to his voice that seemed to satisfy the crowd before Isaak and his band took the stage. He also threw in the Sly and Family Stone cover “Higher Ground” which suited him and his band well.
Isaak and his band took the stage at round 8pm. Isaak’s band dressed in matching black and silver suits. Isaak opened and closed with songs off of “Heart Shaped World.” This maybe considered the go to album if your fan of Isaak’s. 6 songs were played off it throughout the set including the masterpiece “Wicked Game.” This is one of my favorite songs from any artist and Isaak played it true to form. The guitar tones of Hershel Yatovitz were not only spot on for this song, but for entire night’s performance. The band were tight as hell. The camaraderie between Isaak and them was undeniable. He talked about each member through the set and they enjoyed a share of the spotlight as well.
Besides the spectacular musicianship, I was impressed by the candid humor that Isaak displayed all night long. He promised the show may not be Beyoncé like quality, but it wouldn’t be State Fair quality either. His roots lie straight from Roy Orbison. Hence Isaak dropping a few of his classic songs into his set. His tribute to Sun Records artist also included songs from Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash too. Isaak also walked through the crowd for “Think of Tomorrow” which he sat on a few women’s laps to sing to them.
The band slowed things down some as they all came to the edge of the stage and played 6 songs including “Two Hearts and “Forever Young.” This included drummer Kenny Dale Johnson playing just on a snare drum with brushes. When Isaak returned for the encores, he came out wearing a new jacket and suit pants that had little tiny mirrors all over them. He then got even more interactive with the crowd by inviting 2 women and a man up on stage to dance as well.
All in all, this show turned out to be one of my favorites of the year so far. Isaak had the complete package going for him on Tuesday night, the music, the musicianship, the candid humor and a well responsive crowd to take it all in!
Setlist:
Heart Shaped World
I’m Not Waiting
Speak of the Devil
Think of Tomorrow
Big Wide Wonderful
Somebody’s Cryin’
Ring of Fire (Johnny cash cover)
Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison cover)
Wicked Game
Go Walking Down
Forever Blue
Two Hearts
Worked It Out Wrong
Forever Young
Only the Lonely (Rob Orbison cover)
Can’t Help Fallin’ In Love (Elvis Presley cover)
You Don’t Cry Like I Do
Don’t Make Me Dream
San Francisco Days
Blue Hotel
Notice the Ring
Encore:
Baby Did
Blue Spanish Sky
We would like to thank Dave Wedekindt and Maria Hays from Artpark for the credentials to review the show.
