That show was at a beautiful setting in the hills at a winery. That evening was more about atmosphere and relaxing than music. The gig at the Verizon was taken in from the 3rd row and it was ABOUT the music period. Mr. Isaak is called a lot of things. A crooner, a rocker, an actor and a comedian. This evening he did them all well without sacrificing anything at all.

As he did in Seattle, he came out with one of his signature tailor made “loud” suits, which he wears so well. Powder blue was the choice for tonight. At 50 this guy looks wonderfully handsome as ever. He can pull off wearing anything he wants and the ladies would swoon. But Isaak is way more than trying to catch the fancy of the ladies. His super talented voice is still his strong point for sure. Brooding, melancholy, rocking or impossibly romantic, this dude delivers the goods.

His attitude ranges from hip to cool to stylish, but also very working class, very regular guy. His hopping off the stage twice to mingle with the fans is something that he pulls off well and shows them how much he enjoys performing. Yours truly even got to smack him on the back during one of his jaunts into the crowd! The highlights of the show were numerous. “Wonderin”, “Please” and a smokin’ hot “Speak of the Devil” were great. Being able to sound like two legends like Elvis and Ray Orbison is both amazing and unique. You cannot fake either, especially the long wails that Orbison would marvel at himself.

“Don’t be Cruel” was so cool. Covering Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” was even better! Throughout their performance, the band did everything in their power to ensure a good time, great music and brilliant musicianship and choreography. A true favorite of mine-and everyone else-was the real dirty boogie of “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing”! Chris showing up at the encore as a “human mirror ball” was classic as well. “Only Lonely” brought goose bumps. The term “feel good” gets over used at times when describing an overall performance, but in this case it fits so well. It was one of the quickest 2 hour hour gigs I’ve ever covered and left me wanting yet more……………what more can you ask from a gig than that?