Monday, January 25, 1999
Wick
MUSIC: Chris Isaak’s charisma and talent come shining through on
stage,
making life’s problems bearable
By Brent Hopkins
Daily Bruin Staff
We don’t live in a fair world. Money doesn’t grow on trees,
Wisconsin wins the Rose Bowl and good guys get dumped for no
particular reason. Everyone’s gotten the short end of the stick
sometime when they didn’t deserve it. Chris Isaak reminds us that
it could be worse. If someone as cool as him can get screwed over,
then you feel a little better about whatever’s dragging your life
down.
All that. A bag of chips. A hundred dollar bill. And then some.
That’s what the singer and songwriter was at his Jan. 20th concert
at the House of Blues. Decked out in a ridiculous, yet cool, blue
spangled suit, with his hair piled high like a young Elvis, the
charismatic crooner was in top form for his visit to the HOB. With
longtime collaborators Silvertone backing him up, he lit up the
room, both with reflections from his costume and a warm stage
presence.
"Just like a captain of a ship at sea has powers, a sequined man
on stage has certain powers and I am festooned with sequins," he
remarked wryly, being more truthful than he realized.
Isaak’s power didn’t all come from the music he and Silvertone
made – it was good, but often not that much different from what can
be found on his CDs. His grip on the largely female audience sprung
from a confident air, witty remarks, a sly smirk and a killer
instinct for showmanship. As he roamed the compact stage, it was
clear that he was enjoying himself, and this good feeling spilled
over onto the fans.
The two-hour set drew mostly from his latest project, "Speak of
the Devil," but sampled from his back catalogue rather liberally as
well.
Silvertone was in a tight groove, with drummer Kenney Dale
Johnson smashing his cymbals and beating his snares with vigor, and
Hershel Yatovitz doing an amazing job on guitar. As good as they
were, however, Isaak was the unrivaled star attraction. His rich
vocals were as smooth and heart-rending as always, and his rhythm
guitar work was subtle but well done.
Hampered by a sketchy PA system that tended to feed back at
inopportune times, such as the edgy rocker "Please," Isaak still
managed to keep things going. Even when his microphone completely
cut out during "Speak of the Devil," he continued without missing a
beat, borrowing Yatovitz’s until the technicalities could be sorted
out. Once they were, things sailed smoothly.
Most songs were only minorly improved over their studio
versions, but when things were mixed up a bit, the music really
took off. "Somebody’s Crying" gained a boost from the meatier
organ, with the Hammond B-3 squealing like a Corvette at a green
light. "Don’t Go Walking" also had new life breathed into it,
becoming much more rocky and energetic than its original form. With
only minor instrumental changes, pieces gained an entirely new
flavor.
Good instrumental work was not the only thing that could give
the tunes a lift, but also Isaak’s raw emotion. As he cut loose on
the timeless "Wicked Game," fans broke out into screams, nearly
drowning him out with their enthusiasm. While the power of his
vocals broke through the fog of noise, the fans’ adulation took
away from the moment when they began to overpower the music. In the
end, the screaming wasn’t a major factor.
Ironically, the more depressed Isaak’s musical mood became, the
happier the crowd seemed. As he eked his way through the abysmally
gloomy "Forever Blue," couples held each other close and stole
kisses, unmindful of their surroundings. Those without a partner to
share the song with fell right into the same pit that Isaak sung
about. It was a strangely surreal moment, with a sea of overly
frisky couples and morose loners.
The highlight of the show came, strangely enough, with their
rendition of "Diddley Daddy," a normally unremarkable cover of an
old Bo Diddley tune. The band pulled all the stops out on this one,
attacking their instruments with vigor that had not surfaced
previously. Isaak showed off his more than capable harmonica
skills, but the moment belonged to Hershel Yatovitz.
In a dark suit and glasses, Yatovitz didn’t have the glitzy
visual appeal of Isaak, but his guitar did all the talking for him.
He played with an unmatchable drive, carrying on an extended solo
so complex that the rest of the band was able to stop playing and
go offstage, without hurting the song whatsoever. When his
Stratocaster ran out of notes for his solo, he re-tuned it onstage,
while continuing to play, so the guitar now mimicked the sound of
an electric bass.
After he was done with that, he tuned back up, and finished the
solo as he’d started.
It was a moment of jaw-dropping amazement, after which the band
returned to towel him off. Although they played several encores
afterwards, none could match the virtuosity of "Diddley Daddy."
So yeah, life is pretty crummy sometimes. With Chris Isaak
around to put things in perspective, though, it doesn’t seem so
bad.Melanie Nissen
Chris Isaak’s performance at the House of Blues Wednesday night
brought on continuous encores and gave the fans their money’s worth
of the charismatic singer and songwriter’s music.
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