Menu
Crossing tour paths this summer and an affinity for each other and each other’s music, Lyle Lovett and Chris Isaak brought their bands for a double bill to Atlanta. After an officiated coin toss, Lovett won and deferred to Isaak to take the stage first. Never mind that Isaak’s staging was already set. It’s a tone setter for the humor and amicability that would follow.
Isaak started with “American Boy,” and his enthusiasm and interaction made it obvious it would be a fun show to follow.
You pretty well know things are going well when his biggest hit, “Wicked Game,” is the fifth song in the set. It might otherwise be expected to the be the final song of the main set or even the encore. That takes confidence, and at this point in the tour, no doubt a proven plan.
Shortly, Isaak gave a testimonial of sorts calling the flock to redemption before launching into “Ring of Fire.” Throughout the set, it makes me wonder how the Chris Isaak show and the Chris Isaak Hour no longer exist.
Witty, impeccable timing, great voice… Isaak is an entertaining and practiced showman.
And of course, there was more. In case anyone thinks all they get is jokes, a nice suit, and some choreographed moves with his guitarists, no. Instead, he brings everyone out to the front of the stage to play on stools. “Only the Lonely” was a highlight, as Isaac’s style fits perfectly, or vice-versa, but it’s even better when you learn that Orbison helped him along early in his career. Then you come to a song like “Dancin'” where Isaac holds a note (almost, by default), impossibly long.
Isaak covered songs from most of his albums, blending them into a fully satisfying set, including an instrumental “boogie” that let his band display their chops. Suffice it to say, Isaak hit all the right notes in a thoroughly entertaining set, backed by a band providing perfect, and at times humorous, support.
After a 30 minute (complete) set change, Lyle Lovett and his 12 (by my count) Large Band took the stage. And then there’s the melding of genres. Isaac is just off the mark when trying to label him country, pop, or even rockabilly. He’s all those blended into one.
What then is Lyle Lovett? Country? Not quite. Folk, jazz, singer-songwriter? Maybe all those get jumbled into the Americana label when nothing quite fits. One thing was clear, Lovett is a story teller, whether in his songs or his patient and articulate explanations, of varying lengths, about his songs or his Large Band.
Lovett is, of course, used to touring and like everyone and everything, took a pause during the pandemic. He just released his first album after 10 years with many songs shaped by his rather recent introduction to fatherhood with five year old twins, a boy and a girl. Four of his songs were from that album, 12th of June, the date of their birth. His set began with two songs from that album, one of which is the possibly defensible grammar of the song title, “Pants is Overrated,” with a nod to several well made points in the lyric.
Afterwards, Isaak returned to the stage for their final pairing of this season’s tours, including some humorous repartee and two songs, “Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “Dream Baby,” also joined by some of Isaac’s band for backing vocal support.
What was incredibly obvious was the love and mad respect that he has for them. One could start with “I’ve been to Memphis,” where each band member takes a brief solo without the song being lost in the process. It’s an indicator that the show wasn’t just Lyle Lovett. It’s him with his Large Band. Below is another example. Lovett watched them for a full minute or more. And when the star gives that attention to his band, the audience follows.
I’d heard that Lovett introduces his band at each stop. I don’t know if he introduces the band to the extent that he did in Atlanta every night, but there was enough personal sharing about certain members that shows just how much a part of his life they are. It’s something Sinatra would never have done, and despite the amount of time that it took (three songs worth?), for those who appreciate the music but also want to get a sense of who an artist is, this was impressive. And, no doubt, for the family members of bands who were called out in the audience.
Part of the band included three male vocalists, one with possibly the lowest voice I’ve heard. They added great balance to the band’s overall sound and making “I Will Rise Up” to an evening highlight. “Here I Am” and “If I Had a Boat” were crowd favorites, but “12th of June” stands out, in part for the storytelling Lovett shared about visiting the family cemetery growing up and his introduction to parenting.
Three stanzas capture the storytelling to the weight of the song:
All I have I gladly give them
All I am they will exceed
And one thing I know for sure
If they improve the likes of me
They make a better man of me
So to my father and my mother
And to our fathers long before
There are those who walk above us
Who’ll remember that we were
They will remember that we were
And to these beautiful two children
And to my sweet and tender wife
I will love you three forever
Though I fly beyond this life
Though I fly beyond this life
In sum, seeing either artist would have been splendid, but to see both made it a very special and entertaining evening, indeed.
Chris Isaak setlist:
Encore:
Lyle Lovett setlist:
