“Well the moon is on the highway, darkness fills the sky
As long as I keep driving, I know that I won’t die…”
The “Out of the Slot” heading signals that I’m about to post something that has no relevance to the primary topic of this blog, and when I do that, its usually about my other favorite topic: MUSIC! So for those of you who aren’t music lovers, you might want to skip this one. And for those of you who are, let me ask you: when was the last time you went to a concert on a Monday night?
Living legends are rare: that’s why the term exists. Chris Isaak is just such a living legend: a man who does what he does so well that you can almost calibrate your instruments by it. He’s big, no doubt, but even at that, I still think he’s still underrated; in fact, I think Isaak might be one of the greatest performers of our time.
So flashback with me over 30 years to a hot summer night standing on the corner of North Yale Ave and 2nd Street in the Claremont Village in CA; it was 1992 or 93, and I was hanging with some friends-we had most likely just left either Rhino Records or Nick’s Cafe-and, lit by the pink neon of the vintage sign inside the drug store we stood outside of, one of my friends made a remark about the song “Wicked Game,” and I said, “I love that song, I like Chris Isaak.” He rolled his eyes. Chris Isaak wasn’t punk or goth, you see, so he was persona non-grata in my crowd at the time. I didn’t care. Then as now, I had one foot in the 1950’s and the other in the 70’s-”one half hillbilly and one-half punk” as The Cramps sang in “Garbageman”-and when I first saw David Lynch’s awesome 1990 flick Wild At Heart and first heard “Wicked Game,” I was hooked! I liked it so much I bought the single first, and then I bought the album-picked it up on cassette at Rhino Records-and that was that! Once I heard Heart Shaped World, my mohican-punk rock ass was a fan for life! 30 years later, to quote one of Chris’ best songs, “Nothing’s Changed.”
Along with many other musicians and bands I love, Isaak’s career has provided a soundtrack for my own life; after discovering his music in 1990-by which time he had already released his 3rd album-there was a follow-up every few years almost like clockwork, and he never messed with his formula, because smart men don’t mess with something that works so well. At this point I have almost every album he’s ever recorded, and with the exception of the first two, I bought them in sequence as they came out, so alongside some of my other favorites (Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Love & Rockets, The Primitives, the Jesus & Mary Chain, to name just a few off the top of my head) he’s always been there for me. If you asked me to rate his life’s work-or to put it more humbly, to describe that which I have most enjoyed-I would say his 5th album, Forever Blue from 1995 is his best, followed very closely by Heart Shaped World from 1989-hard to pick between those! Then the 2nd, eponymous (untitled) album from ‘86, then his debut Silvertone from ‘85, with Speak Of The Devil from ‘98 just edging out Always Got Tonight from ‘02 to round out the top 5. It almost doesn’t matter, though, because they are all so good! If I drop any one of them onto the turntable, the score of my numbered days is there!
What makes Isaak so impressive is that he’s more than just a talented musician with more style in his fingernails than most rockers have in their whole careers; its that he is just so damn likeable! in most cases, I don’t care much about the “celebrity lifestyle” issues of my favorite musicians: I’m not really all that interested in who they are as people beyond my enjoyment of their art. Isaak is different, because he’s more than a brilliant song writer and a great guitar player who’s almost impossibly handsome to boot; on top of that, he’s witty, intelligent, charming as all hell, and in every way just comes across as a nice guy! Anyone who doubts me should check out an old episode of his sitcom The Chris Isaak Show than ran for 3 years on Showtime, or his talk show The Chris Isaak Hour, in which he interviewed and played with other musicians. In every way, he is the type of person I would love to just hang with! And I can’t say that about most of my favorite musicians! I bet you can’t, either!
“There was a man in a foreign land
In love with a woman he didn’t understand
Love is not a thing you command
Love is something that keeps you, keeps you…
Dancin'”
All of these talents combined in one man make him more than a star; its excessively rare to see someone with so much ability who is so humble about it, and all these qualities indicate to me he should be even more famous than he is!
So yeah, a Monday night concert! It was a little unusual, but when I found out I was going to have a chance to see a performer I’ve loved since my youth but never seen live, I wasn’t going to pass it up! So I went into work early the morning Of September 16, and got as much done as I could so I could bail out by 3:30, drive out to Brighton to pick up one my buddies, and then hi-tail it up state route 85 to the li’l cow town in northern Colorado called Greeley. Well, that is, it used to be a little cow-town! Since Colorado has now been thoroughly “Californicated” its a cow-town no more. For once that worked in my favor, because, while Greeley isn’t the place you think of to see a concert, the Union Colony Civic Center turned out to be a great place; a decently small, intimate venue with great accoustics, the place reminded me of a scaled-down version of Boettcher Hall in Denver where the Colorado Symphony Orchestra plays: clean, carpeted, and air conditioned, there were potted plants in the halls and ushers in suits. This isn’t the kind of gig I usually go to; I’m used to going to shows in places with graffiti on the walls that smell like locker rooms. Not that I mind that; but this was an adult concert. Ok, ok, sure: that means it was a concert for old people, right? Well, I guess so, because Isaak is now 68 years old as he enters the final stages of his 2024 world tour, and at that age, he still looks and sounds fantastic! Just like your humble blogger! 😀
There was no opening act-he doesn’t need one-and from the opener “American Boy” (just about the best track from Always Got Tonight), we were rewarded with over 90 minutes spanning his whole career. A lot of my favorites weren’t in the set list (“Heart Shaped World.” “Kings Of The Highway,” “Heat Of The Jungle,” “Goin’ Nowhere”) but there were plenty that were (“Blue Hotel,” “Wicked Game,” “Blue Spanish Sky,” “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing”), and he covered 2 songs by Roy Orbison and 2 by Elvis as if he were the King himself reincarnated. The choreography, the humorous interludes, and the sense of fun was all more than any fan could hope for, and he left me wanting more.
I can’t write a better review of the show than the one that appeared on the “Bandwagon” website, written by Jason Alfaro, who concluded his concise write up with this:
“The evening was a perfect blend of nostalgia and vitality, proving that Chris Isaak hasn’t lost a step. His ability to connect with his audience, whether through his enduring hits or his personable stage presence, makes it clear why he’s remained a cherished artist for so long. His performance at the UCCC was more than just a concert; it was a masterclass in how to captivate an audience, delivered by a musician who knows exactly how to make every moment count.”
Couldn’t have said it better! We may be entering the final stretch, dear readers, but we’re not going silently into the night! I’ll be rockin’ all the way to the grave, and God willing, Chris Isaak is going to be there to provide the soundtrack the whole rest of the way!
<—- Your Humble Blogger at dinner after the show
FOOTNOTE:
As a point of interest: although it is rarely mentioned, the relationship between Chris Isaak’s music and David Lynch’s movies did not begin with Wild At Heart; Lynch’s 1986 masterpiece Blue Velvet also features an Isaak song, “Gone Ridin’,” another of the best tracks from his first album Silvertone, quoted at the top of this post: another personal favorite, in no small part because it appears in that movie! It scores an eerie scene where Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) visits Dorothy Vallens’ apartment for the first time. That a musician and a filmmaker that I have loved and admired for most of my life have both a working relationship and a personal friendship just makes the mystique of both artists all that much cooler!
Absolutely a true talent and the real thing, that he still sounds (and looks) this good is proof positive of that! This looks like it was a great night and so glad you got to experience it!!!