Prime Orchestra, Row F, Seat 119. Again.
No rain this time!
On the way down, there was a backup on the Beltway
approaching the bridge. No problems on the way back, although there was
certainly more traffic on a Saturday night than for my two previous Sunday evening
shows.
In a somewhat novel twist, Lovett, Isaak, and one other guy
came out on stage just before the 7:30 show time. They announced that they
would flip a coin to see which of them did the opening set. Lyle won the toss
and “deferred”, which meant that Chris went on first. Which worked out well,
since his band’s equipment was already on stage. 😉
Isaak and his four bandmates put on an excellent 90-minute
set, pulling out the rock-and-roll licks (and moves) on the faster numbers
while providing just enough accompaniment on the ballads to highlight Isaak’s
vocals. (Yes, he can still hit those high notes.) While they made sure to roll
out the hits, including “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing”
and “Wicked Game”, I was also impressed with some of the songs I hadn’t heard
before, especially the show-closing “The Way Things Really Are”. While most of
their material was original, they also did full justice to songs made famous by
others, such as James Brown (!), Elvis, Johnny Cash, and (of course) Roy
Orbison.
Lovett and crew kept the momentum going after “halftime” of
the show. Isaak added to the fun by coming back onstage for three songs mid-set:
a duet on “Straighten Up And Fly Right”, a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Dream Baby”
on which Isaak’s band provided backup vocals, and a hilarious novelty number
entitled “We Gave Each Other Covid”. That mini-set was immediately preceded by
the always-entertaining “Here I Am”, and followed by two of the show’s highlights:
the gospel-flavored “I Will Rise Up” and a version of “I’ve Been To Memphis”
that featured solos by the many band members.
Lovett certainly can’t be accused of self-promotion; he
never mentioned that earlier in the year he had released his first new album (12th
of June) in 10 years, despite performing 5 of its 11 tracks. IMHO, the
title track is one of the best songs released so far this year.
Lovett and the band also drew well-deserved cheers for two
of his best-known tunes near the end of the set: “If I Had A Boat” (my personal
favorite) and “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)”. The strict 11:00 curfew
did bite at the end, however, as the band had to exit with only a brief instrumental
reprise of “Here I Am”, with no time left for an encore.
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