By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
April 29, 1991
After six years of playing to seemingly the same small group of fans, Chris Isaak made a triumphant return to Chicago, this time as a bonafide pop star.
The Junk Monkeys also performed a show over the weekend that made up with power what it lacked in polish.
The Junk Monkeys concert at the Avalon on Saturday night proved that while they have “speed pop” down to an art form, the young Detroit musicians would benefit from varying their sets to showcase some of their non-thrash-style songs earlier in their gigs. At their best, as on the jazzy “Everything Remains the Same,” the musicians were reminiscent of early Replacements, with Dave Bouettete’s angry guitar work perfectly offsetting David Bierman’s manic vocals. But at other times, the thrash-metal guitars made several of the songs sound like an incongruous run-on sentence.
The four-man band assaulted the late night audience’s senses with cuts culled primarily from the group’s latest album, “Five Star Fling.” Dressed like hobo skateboarders, the Monkeys admirably plugged on even when the apathetic fans seemed more interested in flagging down drinks than listening to the music. The Monkeys deserved a better crowd than this.
Isaak, on the other hand, received a hero’s welcome Friday night when he performed a sold-out show at the Riviera. Most of the screaming teenage girls pressed against the stage probably never saw Isaak perform live before because, until this year, he played to 21-and-older crowds in bars. But with the Top Ten success of his unlikely hit “Wicked Game,” Isaak has attracted a following that ranges from MTV boppers to fans old enough to know that Elvis refers to Presley, and not Costello.
In a throwback to the days when performers dressed up rather than down for their concerts, Isaak and his band Silvertone made their entrance exactly on schedule.
Wearing a resplendent magenta pink suit and with his dark hair slicked back into a pompadour, Isaak looked like the star fans have come to expect of him: A California surfer with a vintage wardrobe.
“I dreamed of the day I would come to Chicago – where everyone dressed like this,” Isaak joked.
Isaak kicked the concert off with “Dancin,’ ” a single from his 1985 debut LP, “Silvertone.” As Kenney Dale Johnson drummed the familiar opening beat, the fans cheered and clapped before Isaak sang his first verse. When he did sing, Isaak’s smooth tenor belied the fact that on this tour, where he has few days off between predominantly back-to-back gigs, his vocal cords are getting minimal rest.
While the moody ballad “Wicked Game” received the evening’s loudest ovation, Isaak had better songs up his sleeves. He varied his set, nestling the slower numbers in between more rocking songs from his three LPs, throwing in covers of Bo Diddley’s “Diddley Daddy,” the Troggs’ “Wild Thing” and Tom Jones’ “Delilah” and unleashing his accordion for a raucous version of “Caldonia.” Later, softly strumming a guitar that his elder brother engraved for him, Isaak sang a languidly sensual version of “Blue Spanish Sky.” Saxophonist Johnny Reno made his entrance during this song, creating sweet melodies that caressed Isaak’s vocals like a cashmere glove.
Besides being one of today’s more innovative backup bands, Johnson, guitarist James Calvin Wilsey, bassist Rowland Salley and honorary Silvertone Reno served as perfect foils for Isaak’s wit. The audience at first seemed a little surprised by his goofily humorous stage patter, which contrasts with the brooding image he projects both on record and in his videos. But the fans, which included members of R.E.M. and actors Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger and John Cusack, caught on to his jokes and encouraged them.
Isaak’s minimalist stage setup included little more than his ever-present strand of fluorescent Tiki dolls, but he didn’t need much more. Isaak knew how to put on a memorable show without sacrificing his music.
