A Smokey Night With Chris Isaak at Portland Zoo

      

            They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a shaky video from our distant perch surely wouldn’t be worth much.  This was the third installment of our little summer concert going season, which began in June at the Crystal Ballroom with a sweaty night seeing “Post Modern Jukebox.” Then there was last month’s three in one with Train, the Fray and Matt Nathansan. But, for me, this was the highlight of the summer.

Everyone has a band or songs that recall a place and time in our lives and for me, Chris Isaak’s music has served as a soundtrack to many loves and heartbreaks in my life.  Ironically, I never saw the S.F. based band until we moved back to the Northwest. This concert made me homesick for San Francisco.

           

            The unfortunate problem with all three events besides challenging my back and hip was arriving too late to secure decent “general admission” seating. This time, we had a good reason to be tardy, visiting a close friend whose husband had an awful week and remains in intensive care. The venue also restricted the chair height and blanket size in order to pack the fans in like sardines.

           

            We wound up sitting behind an eccentric foursome whom I swear were swingers. Half the time, the large gorilla of a man in front of me blocked any hope I had of a view. To make matters worse, his enormous tukhus threatened to crush my toes. This was the oldest and most affluent crowd of our concert going season and by far the most obnoxious! I also had the sinking feeling some concert goers had never heard of the band and were merely wandering Zoo members.

            The opening band were a locally based duo called “Ashley Leigh” who played a fine fiddle mix of country and bluegrass. I bought a CD, which the ladies graciously signed for me.  I discovered I had grown up one street away from the lovely Ashley in Eugene, Oregon! (Cue “It’s a Small World.”) I hope we can catch another show with them; they were a hoot and reminded me a bit of the Indigo Girls.

           

            Chris was easy to spot when he appeared wearing a bright blue sequined suit he could have borrowed from Elvis. The opening song was one of the few I didn’t recognize in the whole set. After a few songs, Chris engaged the crowd with banter worthy of a stand-up comedian. Even though this was my first time seeing him, I knew he was funny based on seeing and hearing other live shows and interviews. This lady in the cheap seats has been a fan for about twenty- five years.

            He performed his beloved classics including “Wicked Game” and “Baby, Did a Bad Bad Thing,” both made super popular by on movie soundtracks. Unfortunately, one of my favorite songs, “San Francisco Days” was interrupted by jerks behind us yelling at those in front of us to sit down! (Not like I could see much given Mr. Tukhus!) It got worse from there; the two swinger men in front of us deciding to speak VERY loudly about dry wall and other meaningless stuff while I was trying to hear the missing soundtrack of my intense youth! If you weren’t into the music, please leave! Least you think I was being hypersensitive, the folks in other rows were also giving these dudes (including Mr. Tukhus!) the stink eye.

I had to use all my powers of intention to listen to the music and revel in the emotion and romance with my husband on our tiny island of a fleece blanket. (Cursing myself all the while for not buying “reserved” tickets.) Given the feelings of the crowd, we also didn’t feel free to get up and dance to the songs we wanted. Bummer.

            Chris and the band were consummate professionals.  There were no “selfies” taken for fans (see my Train concert review) but there were plenty of guitar tricks and some Elvis type dancing. I enjoyed his banter with the bass player “Scottie.”  Some VIP types got to go up on stage and dance. Chris seemed eager to share the spotlight.  He even confessed he still gets stage fright, which caused many females to let out a collective “Awww.”  Chris promised a new album to be released this October, after much photo-shopping the cover. (Humbleness will make you friends, genuine or not!)

            I believe many older folks were in the audience due to their love of Elvis.  Chris confessed a love of Elvis movies, especially the super bad ones! He sang “Love Me Tender” and it was better then the King’s version, in this fan’s opinion. They also performed a great version of Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” which allowed everyone to briefly get up on their feet.

           

            Alas, it seemed to end all too soon. Chris did reappear in a black disco-ball suit and did a three-song encore to finish the ninety-minute set. As a longtime fan, there were many songs I missed hearing including his fantastic cover of Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man.” But if the goal in show biz is to “keep them wanting more,” Mr. Isaak and crew certainly delivered.  I hope to see the band again in a more personal venue, preferably without the talking gorillas!