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August 29, 2008
Chris Isaak at The Klein
Last Sunday night’s Chris Isaak concert at The Klein in Bridgeport had been circled on my calendar since the day it was announced. In fact, I was probably setting myself up for a letdown with my anticipation of the concert.
Thankfully, Isaak and his veteran band were incredibly entertaining and the 800 or so people at The Klein were treated to a wonderful evening of live music.
Isaak’s voice was strong throughout, whether hitting the soaring high notes or growling out his bluesier numbers, he made it all seem so effortless. He has long been compared to Roy Orbison, both for his voice and for his songs of the lonely, broken lover. He even did a solid cover of Orbison’s “Only the Lonely,” which showed the comparisons weren’t far off base.
What sets a Chris Isaak concert apart, however, is the humor he displays on and off the stage. By the show’s third song, Isaak was walking among the crowd as he sang Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender.” He’d sing a verse, stop and talk to some people, sing another verse, flirt with a woman, all without missing a beat of the song or his comic timing.
Isaak also was off-the-wall funny in the interactions with his band members, who doubled as comic foils throughout the concert. It was also amusing when Isaak would lay on the self-deprecating humor, especially when it came to his blue Western outfit, complete with sequins.
For the encore, he dressed even more outrageously, wearing a suit made up almost entirely of little rectangular mirrors. He looked like a cross between Talking Heads’ David Byrne in the big suit from “Stop Making Sense” and a disco ball.
Opening act was British R&B performer James Hunter, who sounded just as good as he does on his striking new album, “The Hard Way.” Hunter, in fact, had his own fans in attendance, including one couple that came just to see him and planned to leave early in Isaak’s set.
I don’t know why anyone would do that, but if they actually did depart, it was their loss. Especially when their favorite, Hunter, and his two sax players joined Isaak and his band in the encore for a version of Wilbert Harrison’s classic “Kansas City.”
Chris Isaak’s set list
Lonely with a Broken Heart/Somebody’s Crying/Love Me Tender/All I Want is Your Love/We Let Her Down/Speak of the Devil/Mr. Lonely Man/Wicked Game/Best I Ever Had/I Want You to Want Me/Worked It Out Wrong/All the Way/Two Hearts/Take My Heart/Don’t Leave Me On My Own/I’ll Go Crazy/Sweet Leilani/Western Stars/Dancin’/Only the Lonely/ Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing
Encore: American Boy/Kansas City/San Francisco Days/Notice the Ring/Move Along/Blues Stay Away from Me/Forever Blue
Posted by Sean on August 29, 2008 3:55 AM
Comments
seanny boy!.....when ya bloggin' next?....love to hear what yer up to!...peace, my brota!
Posted by: dollar at October 23, 2008 3:19 PM
