Concert review: Isaak has wicked fun — and Sun — at Plaza show

Thank goodness for guys like Chris Isaak.

While he may have thanked the smallish crowd at Tuesday night's Plaza Theatre show — his first in El Paso — for "supporting live music," something fewer people are doing in this slowly recovering economy, all 700 of them could just as easily have thanked him for not phoning it in.

How many times have you been to a show where the small turnout gave the headliner an excuse to phone it in? Isaak didn't do that. In fact, he seemed oblivious to the crowd's size.

It was a full-on, playful, 90-minute set, just Isaak and the in-the-pocket Silvertone quintet, no opener, lots of hits, few misses, plenty of tongue-in-cheek cheese and a refreshing sidetrip into the Sun Records songbag that inspired his forthcoming album of Sun classics.

Isaak, who turned 55 on June 26, recalled his childhood in Stockton, CA, listening to his dad's Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison records. "I didn't realize all that stuff came from one place," he said, as a neon recreation of Sun's "Memphis Recording Service" sign lit up behind one of the five, large, louvred panels at the back of the stage.

They reeled off six straight Sun-era songs, connecting those dots from rock's early days as an uneasy traffic jam of rural blues, country and gospel to the retrofitted rockabilly pop of "Dancin'," "Blue Hotel" and "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" that helped make Isaak, his matinee idol good looks and Orbisonesque tenor a cult favorite for the last quarter of a century.

The Sun miniset mixed faithful renditions of obvious songs, like Presley's "It's Now or Never," Cash's "Ring of Fire" and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" (with smoking piano), with not-so obvious  gems, including a shimmering version of the King's ballad "How's the World Treating You" and Jimmy Wages' gritty rockabilly obscurity "Miss Pearl," which featured some tour-de-force six-string work from Johnny-on-the-spot guitarist Hershel Yatovitz.

It's obvious Isaak's not out to reinvent the wheel here. He sounds more intent on indulging his musical roots while exposing them to others. It would have been nice to hear the resourceful singer and his versatile band add some of their own touches to these songs, but that's not the point.

The Sun section could have lasted a song or two longer, too, but served as a sturdy bridge between the fast, well-paced first half and the looser, more varied five-song finale. The first half dug deep into his 10-album catalog, including a straightforward version of his biggest and most haunting hit, "Wicked Game," a rumbling "Speak of the Devil" and a swampy "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing," accented by two female dancers plucked from the crowd.

The pompadoured singer emerged from the Sun session in a gaudy, mirrored suit, which shot more stars in the crowd than there are on the Plaza's famously restored ceiling (though he did ask the crew to turn down the lights so he could check them out).

Brighter yet was his  lovely, loving rendition of Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love," a rocking version of Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" (complete with a 20-foot inflatable pinup girl) and the solo acoustic version of "Forever Blue," which closed the show.

It's not too hard to believe that Isaak didn't put a few more butts in the seats. Not in this town, where fringe artists get so little mainstream exposure. It is hard to believe he hasn't played here before, but given how much fun he and the band seemed to have — he also raved about the theater's sound a couple of times — here's hoping he comes back.

 

 

Comments

[Roy]

Now THAT was a Rock-N-Roll Show, hopefully we get more Artists like him!

[moni]

STOCKTON, CA.
He's from STOCKTON.

[Raul Arizpe]

Great Show!!!

[Isabella]

The concert was AWESOME! I wasn't necessarily a big Isaak fan before going to the concert, but definitely am now. It's so refreshing to see someone (and the quintet) who is obviously so talented and(wow! that voice!) having so much fun performing. It was a genuine show, performed honestly and straightforward, with heart and soul. I walked out of there being utterly amazed and a newly devoted fan. What a great show!