FAINT WAVES

Chris Isaak, live at the Tulsa Theater in Tulsa, OK. I would’ve liked to be closer, but who can really complain when the tickets were free.

To say Chris Isaak has had an impact on me would be a massive understatement. In a modern context, he has influenced music and art of my own, but it’s bigger than that. Not totally unlike Billy Idol, who has been a musical part of my life since I was little, Chris Isaak is someone I’ve liked for as long as I can remember. That obviously goes back to my mom, who was in the perfect age range to latch on to Chris Isaak as he entered the mainstream in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Again, like Billy Idol, I would grow to appreciate Chris Isaak’s catalogue far more than my mom ever did. I became well-versed, beyond the hits, by the time I was an adolescent. Growing up, he was an outlier in what I liked, but I loved him nonetheless. In the sea of Ska, Boom Bap, Synthpop, Classic Rock, Grunge, and Metal that I tended to wade through, Chris Isaak was a singular singer/songwriter that had no equal. While I’d like to think my musical horizons have significantly broadened since I was a kid, I’m inclined to say Chris Isaak still has no equal, or at least no significant parallel. Last night’s show was further proof of this sentiment, so let’s get into it.

Let me preface this by saying I’ve actually seen Chris Isaak once before, back in 2022. A terrific show that was unfortunately hindered by the venue’s poor sound. Venue acoustics and mixing aside, Chris and his backing band were great; I had few complaints about them. Why that show is important, though, is because it offered a comparison point for me this time around. Not only was this a different (better) venue, tucked away in the arts district of downtown Tulsa, but the way I take in concerts has changed too. In 2024, I finally pivoted to using professional earplugs when I see a show, simply because my hearing is probably the most important sense to me, and I can’t undo any damage that’s already been done to it. Let me tell you, I’ll never go back either. Hearing a show as it’s intended to be heard? It’s really like having a separate experience from those who aren’t using them. The needless volume, distortion, and muddiness—these foibles are immediately mitigated, so you just get the performance. I don’t care if you think it’s “uncool”, talk to me when you have premature hearing loss and tell me how uncool it is. Anyway, all of this is to say, this was a top-to-bottom different experience than the one I had in 2022.

The now 68-year-old Rockabilly revivalist, Chris Isaak, hasn’t lost a step. With over 45 years now in the business and active as a musician, Chris is just as good now as he ever was, and that’s not something you can say about everyone who was coming up at the same time as he was. To say Chris has aged gracefully, musically, would be a disservice. The man’s voice is near immaculate, a small miracle for anyone who has been in music as long as he has. In 2022, I was immediately taken with how close to the original recordings Chris managed to get. Here, in 2025, I’m happy to say that feeling persists. There are no huge arrangement changes, no high-notes carefully avoided, no tempos drastically altered. When you see a Chris Isaak show, you can expect a performance worthy of the original recording, a performance that honors the songs and treats them with care. Between songs, Chris Isaak jokingly promises his performance will never dip below “state fair quality”. This sort of self-deprecating shtick is common from Chris, and it may be charming, but rest assured that Chris never descends to “state fair quality”, he operates at a level that most could only hope to. There’s a vintage modesty and traditional showmanship integral to what Chris Isaak does, one that’s very much in line with his progenitors.

A strength of his at this point, is just how much his show resembles that of bygone icons like Roy Orbison and Elvis, both of which he covers live. When he was getting off the ground in the 80’s, Chris and his band were following in the footsteps of guys like Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, and Duane Eddy. The anachronistic quality of Chris’ look, voice, and music made him a perfect fit for the brief 50’s and 60’s revival in the 1980’s, when a generation were now feeling nostalgic for a decade that simply bore no resemblance to the one they were residing in. Similarly, this out-of-time quality made Chris an ideal fit for the surreal Americana of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, and Wild At Heart. All of this is present in the live show, Chris and his band deftly weaving between Roots Rock, Rockabilly, and the Western and Surf-tinged Dream Pop that James Wilsey’s evocative guitar work conjured back in the day. Wilsey may not be with us anymore and may not have performed with Chris since the 90’s, but he looms large here and is appropriately recreated and honored from a musical standpoint. At a whopping 23 songs, every era and kind of music Chris has done is pretty much covered. Big hits like “Wicked Game”, “Somebody’s Crying”, “Blue Hotel”, and “San Francisco Days” were accompanied by less commonly done cuts like “Speak Of The Devil”, “Two Hearts”, “Western Stars”, and “Lie To Me”; all of these tunes were wonderfully performed and executed near perfectly. 

It was a real pleasure to see Chris again, in a new setting, and with a different setlist (a better one for me personally) than he had in 2022. One thing I might add, is that I planned to see Chris all the way back in March when he first announced this tour date. I then went on to win tickets, which was really serendipitous, as though I was simply meant to see him again. I’m glad that was the case, it was actually really nice to get away, as I recently had a pet pass away and it’s frankly hard to be at home without him. Regardless, I would’ve been happy to pay a pretty penny for this show. Seeing Chris Isaak, I think you get a real bang for your buck, no matter what you spend. There are few out there doing it at this level, at this quality, for as long as Chris has. At one time, Chris might have been seen as derivative of those who came before him, the people he drew on, I would argue that he’s continually worked to set himself apart. He is not merely a lesser simulacra of what came before, he is an honest extension and evolution who developed a knack for fun, sensual, wistful, haunting tunes that felt like they came from a different time and place. I think the passage of time has benefited Chris in this respect. At this point in time, he’s part of a dying breed. In many respects, he’s the closest you can get to seeing a Roy Orbison or Elvis type, barring a campy impersonator or cover band. Chris Isaak carries a torch that few do, but by god, he carries it so well and in his own way. While his inspirations are many, he and his music are continually singular. Go listen to Chris Isaak, go see Chris Isaak, you won’t be sorry. Thanks for reading.

~ FW.