CHRIS ISAAK, YOUNG DUBLINERS AND FRANKY PEREZ, Olympic Legacy Plaza at The Gateway, Friday.
Chris Isaak celebrated a belated birthday with a friendly Salt Lake crowd.
The crooner turned 48 Thursday, and the next day, he charmed his fans at the walled-off Olympic Legacy Plaza at The Gateway.
The charisma flowed the second Isaak stepped on stage. While his band, including guitarist Kenny Dale Johnson, were trussed up in black suits, Isaak emerged in a turquoise getup, complete with a shiny black oxford.
"I wanted to dress up," Isaak said during one of his many between-song banters. "I wanted to give Salt Lake a classy show."
"American Boy," from his latest album "Always Got Tonight," was first out of the gate and set things right for the music-hungry audience. Isaak then reached back to the title track of his 1989 album "Heart Shaped World" to give his older fans something to chew on.
Isaak's sound was well-balanced, and the band played well. It even went off on some synchronized choreography, la ZZ Top. And while Johnson peppered the songs with vibrant leads, it was clear the audience — especially the females — were there for Isaak.
The lament "Somebody's Crying," from "Forever Blue," and the dynamic title cut from "Speak of the Devil" were played with Isaak's trademark relaxed intensity.
He surprised his fans and played his haunting breakthrough hit "Wicked Game" early in the set. That was preceded by another recent charter, "Let Me Down Easy."
Things took off from there. The sneering "Baby Did a Bad Thing" and the restless "I'm Not Sleeping" had the people in the audience out of their lawn chairs and singing along.
The band slowed things down with "Blue Hotel" and hammed it up with "Notice the Ring," while Isaak and his string men line-strutted across the stage.
The encore, which featured a group of female fans joining the band, included Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely," "Forever Blue," "San Francisco Days" and the surf-noir instrumental "Super Magic 2000."
Newcomer Franky Perez's energetic and well-received set brought to mind early Bruce Springsteen, and the Young Dubliners injected a shot of Irish pub rockers into the crowd before the cool tones of Isaak flowed from the stage. The fans loved every note.
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com