Chris Isaak concert review: Riverside, Calif.

photo: Andrew Macpherson

Just over a week ago, Matt Nathanson, the Massachusetts pop/rock musician best known for Adult Contemporary hits like “Faster” and “Come on Get Higher,” tweeted “For anyone keeping score out there, ‘Wicked Game’ by Chris Isaak is the same three chords over and over again and it is genius and never gets boring.”

Indeed. Isaak’s signature song, which reached the top 10 in 1991 (not to mention half a dozen other countries), is usually enrapturing live. Unlike other artists who save their biggest hits until the end, Isaak typically places it in the first third of the set, sending female fans into an early frenzy.

Both were true during the artist’s first appearance at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside, Calif. Clocking in at just under two hours, the stellar concert included crowd-pleasing tributes to Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison – all covered on 2011’s Beyond the Sun album - a few deep album cuts, synchronized stage moves, audience interaction and plenty of good-natured humor.

Sharply dressed as always, Isaak and longtime backing band Silvertone opened with the sprightly pop of “American Boy,” the theme song to the singer/actor’s early 2000s Showtime sitcom “The Chris Isaak Show.” The haunting “You Owe Me Some Kind of Love” was followed by a terrific “Somebody’s Crying,” which drew loud cheers.

During band introductions, Isaak pointed out that drummer/backing vocalist Kenney Dale Johnson had relatives in the audience and then went out into the orchestra and mezzanine sections to sing the night’s first Presley recording “Doin’ the Best I Can” and then “We’ve Got Tomorrow.”

Isaak gave the aptly-titled “Big Wide Wonderful World” an effusive vocal delivery and it was the first of several standouts. Lead guitarist Hershel Yatovitz and bassist Rowland Salley worked both sides of the stage with Isaak and hoisted their guitars in unison from time to time.

Toward the end of the Cash-popularized “Ring of Fire,” Isaak did an amusing bit with Salley where it took several attempts to lure Salley back to his normal position on stage.

For the acoustic-based segment, Isaak admitted that romantic songs were his forte and invited a woman onstage to serenade during “Two Hearts.” Initially hands-on-face embarrassed, she eventually got into being the center of attention. The singer had no problem hitting the high falsetto notes either. The same could be said about a gorgeous “Let Me Down Easy.” 

Scott Plunkett added fine accordion work to “Livin’ for Your Lover,” off the 1985 self-titled debut album. Isaak recalled how it was a part of "Rate-A-Record" on Dick Clark’s old “American Bandstand” TV show and how the punk guy chosen to give his opinion said people couldn’t dance to it. These musicians proved otherwise.

After a man shouted for Isaak to “play some Elvis” (Really? That was unnecessary), he wondered whether the demand referred to Presley or Costello and offered get well wishes for the latter artist, who just announced a recent cancer diagnosis. Focusing on Presley, the guys did “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again” and a perfectly sublime “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

"Blue Hotel" really upped the drama quotient and main set closer “Notice the Ring” bore a percussion style vaguely reminiscent of late ‘60s Santana - a nice change of pace. Come encore time, Isaak changed into his trademark mirrored suit for the slinky blues of “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing.”

Asking three female fans onstage to dance during the song resulted in their expected overzealousness. I really thought a roadie would have to intervene. Finally, it was back to some shimmering mellowness for “Can’t Do a Thing to Stop Me.”