Chris Isaak at the Keswick

Popular music artists generally fall into two categories. There are the consummate musicians, the virtuosi who dazzle us with their technical prowess and artistic innovation, even if they may not be the most dynamic performers. Then there are the entertainers, those who might not be the best singers or instrumentalists in the purely technical sense but more than make up for it by sheer force of personality and showmanship.

And then there is Chris Isaak, who for a quarter-century has managed to be both. As the spiritual and musical descendant of Roy Orbison, Elvis, Rick Nelson, Duane Eddy and other classic American icons of twangy, rootsy rock 'n roll, he's been remarkably consistent as an artist, immune to the fickle vagaries of musical fads and fashions.

Isaak is still the tormented, lonesome troubadour best known for his 1991 hit, "Wicked Game," which brought his wrenching, keening vocals and haunted, sighing guitars to a mass audience. Probably no one better expresses heartbreak and love gone wrong in the good old American rockabilly style through an impeccably crafted three-minute song (although Isaak has actually written and recorded a fair number of upbeat songs as well).

"'Sorry about that'

But if you knew Isaak only through his music, you'd hardly suspect that, in concert, he's part musician and part stand-up comic. Opening his return to the Keswick Theatre this month, he asked the audience, "So who saw us the last time we were here?" After a show of hands, he responded gravely, "OK, we're real sorry about all that. We're gonna do a lot better this time, we promise."

That wry, self-deprecating sense of humor is one key to Isaak's enormous appeal as a performer: Unlike so many other musicians who are too full of themselves by half, Isaak just doesn't take himself that seriously.

He wears mirrored suits and sequined outfits that, as he's remarked in interviews, "Liberace would reject as too flashy." He runs out into the audience to josh with guys and flirt with pretty girls. He trades quips with his band members and makes them perform silly dances. Although he didn't do it at the Keswick show, Isaak has even been known to bring fans up on stage to sing along, dance or even be serenaded.

Monumental feat

Yet while Isaak loves to toy with the trappings and images of rock stardom, he remains totally serious about his music. Isaak and his band, Silvertone, have played together for Isaak's entire career, a monumental feat, as any professional musician will attest. It's that tight professionalism that gives this group the freedom to kid around.

Their familiarity and ease with each other as musicians and friends are obvious, lending Isaak's show a feeling of spontaneity and fun; but they know exactly when to fool around and when to play.

Isaak is touring in support of his latest album, Live at the Fillmore, a good introduction to Chris Isaak for the uninitiated. But the only way to get the full picture is to experience him live in concert. Otherwise you might never realize that, despite the sadness and yearning so well expressed in his songs, Isaak is actually a pretty happy guy who's having a hell of a time and who works hard to make sure his audience has one too.