August 2, 2023 -- Music on the Mountain

Mountain Winery
Saratoga, CA

I wasn't planning on writing up my Wednesday night trip to the Mountain Winery to see Chris Isaak. I have a really hard time judging how much interest people outside of the San Francisco Bay Area have in Chris. I suspect most people know him as the guy who sang "Wicked Game" and had a fun TV show in the early 2000s and that's about it.

Meanwhile, I remember talking about Chris Isaak with my friends when we were in high school. He was popular on the San Francisco music scene and his first album Silvertone came out when I was a junior in high school. None of us were able to actually see Chris in those early days as he was usually playing clubs we weren't old enough to get in to (and even if any of us had tried to use a fake ID we all looked younger than we were anyway and it would have never worked!) Still, we knew who he was and I have followed his career ever since, including referring to guitarist Hershel Yatovitz as the "new guy" in his band. (Hershel's been in the band since 1995, about the same time I could finally afford to go see Chris.)

It had actually been quite a while since I'd last seen Chris. The usual vagaries of conflicts with time and money had a lot to do with that, but I was quite surprised to realize it had been over 10 years since I'd seen him last! So when I saw him once again on the Mountain Winery calendar I grabbed myself a ticket.

The Mountain Winery is a gorgeous venue in the hills above the Santa Clara Valley (aka "Silicon Valley") but it is a chore getting there. Driving up the narrow winding roads is nerve wracking in the daylight and downright scary at night. Still, it's worth the trek up the mountain to a scenic venue with a great view of the South Bay. It's a bit hard to believe that we're still in the heart of the Bay Area and it feels miles away.

Located where it is, you're generally stuck either bringing a picnic dinner or grabbing something from one of the various eateries on site. You can grab a quick salad or pizza from the concession stands or get a nice sit down 3 course dinner on one of the patios, just depends on how much you're willing to spend. I went for a salad this time and sat beneath some trees while I ate and could hear a band playing off by one of the dining areas. A nice relaxing way to start the evening.

Most shows at the Mountain Winery usually include an opening act. Sometimes it's an act touring with the main performer and others they're booked separately. That seems to be the case for this show. I didn't even notice the name of the opening act before the show other than to note that I didn't recognize the name and figured it would be some forgettable act as so many similar acts I've seen over the years. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The fellow who opened the show was named David Luning (I had to text a friend to look it up for me since I couldn't connect to the internet after his set ended) and he and his band mate Ben Dubin (also had to look that up) were absolutely fantastic! The best way to describe his music is probably with the catch-all "Americana" -- a little folky, a little country, a little bluesy. He played about a half dozen songs with just him on an acoustic guitar while Ben played a stand up bass, harmonica, and tambourine -- AT THE SAME TIME! The tambourine was taped to the floor and played using drum pedals in case you were wondering. It's rare that I see an opening act I've never heard of and immediately want to find more of their music, but that was the case here. I'm definitely going to be checking out more of his stuff! (Interestingly the last time I remember seeing a new act and wanting to find their music was also at a Chris Isaak show. The Wallflowers opened for him right when their first album came out -- my friend Mary and I headed to the Virgin Megastore right after the show ended to find their album. Not sure if either of us bought it that night, but we had it soon afterwards if not!)

After being thoroughly entertained by David Luning, it was time for Chris and his band to take the stage. I had a great seat to the side of the stage and could see them entering from back stage and it was great to see his familiar band take the stage before Chris appeared in a light blue suit with paisley rhinestones down the sides of his pants and on the lapels of his jacket. No one looks like Chris Isaak on stage!

Since it had been so long since I'd last seen Chris, I'd rather forgotten just how much fun his shows are. With his quirky sense of humor and his melancholy songs it's always a fun night. The show kicked off with the song he used as the theme song for his television show "American Boy" which is a fun little romp. Then a few songs in, Chris wandered out into the audience while singing "Don't Leave Me on My Own" and I was pleasantly surprised when he started up the stairs next to my section!

"Wicked Game" came along surprisingly early in the set which I thought was great. He's got so many excellent tunes that getting the biggest hit out of the way early allowed everyone to enjoy the rest of the set. Chris was influenced quite a bit by Roy Orbison and he told a story of opening for Roy at the Mountain Winery early in his career and Roy calling him over to stand next to him while being photographed by the press. It was a great way to open his cover of "Only the Lonely." Another highlight was his cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love." If you can't have Elvis sing that song for you, Chris is a damn good replacement. Beyond that, I again have a hard time choosing my favorite moments as he played so many of my favorite songs. "Dancin'", "Blue Hotel", and "San Francisco Days" probably top the list.

A brief intermission and Chris and the band were back for their encore. Chris now in his mirrorball suit that I always wonder how he gets it cleaned! The whole encore was a highlight. From hitting and holding the high notes in "Can't Do a Thing to Stop Me" to paying tribute to Paul Rubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) with a bit of "Tequila" to having his brother Nick join him on stage to sing a song in Spanish to the soft close out of "The Way Things Really Are."

I need to make sure to not take so much time between seeing Chris again!

David Luning set list (courtesy of setlist.fm)

Bad Idea
Almost Sounds Like Laughing
Ain't Easy
Danger
I Won't Cry (Janiva Magness cover) [someone else I need to check out!]
Give Me Back My Keys
Ain't Life a Beautiful Thing 

Chris Isaak set list (courtesy of setlist.fm)

American Boy
Somebody's Crying
Waiting
Don't Leave Me On My Own
I Want Your Love
Wicked Game
Go Walking Down There
Speak of the Devil
Oh, Pretty Woman
Forever Blue
Two Hearts
Blue Spanish Sky
Only the Lonely
Dancin'
Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley vocals)
Can't Help Falling in Love
Blue Hotel
San Francisco Days
Big Wide Wonderful World
Notice the Ring
 
Encore:
In the Heat of the Jungle / Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing / James Bond Theme/ Bye Bye Baby
Can't Do a Thing (To Stop Me)
Tequila
La tumba será el final (with Nick Isaak)
The Way Things Really Are

August 15, 2010: Amazing Acoustic Show!

Saratoga, CA
Mountain Winery

Okay, so I'm a week behind, but it's been a crazy week and finally have some relaxing downtime. Last Sunday I headed out to Saratoga and the beautiful venue that is the Mountain Winery. It's a bit of a hassle to get to nestled as it is in the hills, but it's a gorgeous venue with a view that's worth the drive. I met up with Leslie and Emerson for dinner and we carpooled up to the show.

I've seen Matchbox 20 a couple of times and this would be my third Rob Thomas solo show, so I thought I had a pretty good idea what to expect. Neither Leslie nor Emerson had seen him (and, weirdly, informed me they didn't like Matchbox 20 but liked the solo stuff) so they were a little surprised when the first thing I did was head to the merch booth to purchase a USB wristband. You see, all of Rob Thomas's and MB20s shows are available on a flash drive immediately after the concert. Having passed on this opportunity last time, when Carlos Santana showed up for the encore, well, let's just say I wasn't going to miss out again.

It was the first time either Leslie or Emerson had been to the Mountain Winery since the remodel in 2008, so they were impressed with the changes. It was always a fairly intimate venue, but the sight lines and the bowl seating left something to be desired. The wholesale remodel improved the sight lines and the capacity while still maintaining the intimacy. Pretty neat trick. Thus even our seats mid-way up the General Admission bleachers didn't feel too far removed from the stage.

When we got to our seats and saw the stage we were a bit puzzled. There were a couple of chairs, a couple of guitars, and a grand piano. Huh? Where's the rest of the gear? There's usually a huge band, what's going on? Maybe they'll bring more stuff out after the opener?

Well, after suffering through a mildly humorous comedian, Rob took the stage with just two backing musicians. Turns out the whole tour is a stripped down (mostly) acoustic show! WOW! The songs just at their bare bones with Rob singing. Since my favorite songs of his are mostly the ballads, this was going to be a dream gig for me. And it was pretty magical.

The set list was a mixture of solo and Matchbox tunes with a handful of covers thrown in. He hit all my favorite tunes including "Now Comes the Night" which he hasn't done in previous solo shows and did a fantastic job on "Crazy" -- a timeless classic. That alone was worth the price of admission, but hearing some of the rockier songs slowed down and made quieter was fantastic. Sometimes keeping things simple just makes it all that much better. Combine it with the feel of the Mountain Winery and it was just a soothing and joyful show.

Rob's voice was just amazing through out the show and his on stage anecdotes were told with a great sense of humor and humanity. Going to as many shows as I do, I'm sure much of the patter is the same night to night, but there is a huge difference between telling stories that feel rehearsed and repetitive (hello, Kevin Cronin) and ones that feel genuine and Rob's tales felt like it was the first time they were being told. It's a skill.

The show lasted about 2 hours but with no surprise special guests (and in this type of show it would have been really weird to all of the sudden plug in with Carlos Santana anyway.) And best of all, is I've been enjoying all of it over and over again every day this week which has been great keeping my stress level under control this past week.

On to the easiest set list ever compiled!:

Mockingbird
Sleep Til the War Is Over
When the Heartache Ends
Ever the Same
Bent
Dear Joan
3 A.M.
Crazy
Getting Late
Streetcorner Symphony
Now Comes the Night
Lonely No More
Her Diamonds
Someday
Disease
Unwell
You Won't Be Mine
Time After Time
Smooth
This Is How a Heart Breaks
Bright Lights

July 31, 2005: Good Wine, Good Friends, and Good Tunes

Saratoga, CA
Mountain Winery

Welcome home guys! I realized tonight that this show was the first regular tour stop the guys have played in the Bay Area since the Arrival Tour. Yeah, there have been other shows in the SF area -- 2003 at the Warfield, this year in Oakland -- but they've not come through in the course of the regular tour. So, wow, go to a Journey show, go home and sleep in my own bed! What a concept!

But before I get to the show, I must praise Frank for the coordination of a wonderful picnic at Wildwood Park in Saratoga... what a gorgeous day and just fantastic gathering of fans from all over the dang place! I brought my sister-in-law with me (ya know, the one who screwed up my ability to see the first show of the tour last year by inconveniently marrying my brother during tour season!) and I think she's fairly well convinced that (a) I'm not the only crazy person who travels to see Journey [thanks to the UK crew for proving that!] and (b) the fans are a bunch of reasonably normal people out for a good time! Now maybe the rest of my family won't look at me strangely... To everyone who was at the picnic -- thanks for all your contributions. The food was fabulous and I sure hope Frank can do something with all the leftovers before he heads to Denver. (Alas, the leftover macaroni salad must go in the garbage since it's not gonna keep for the week I'm outta town!)

We headed up to the show about 5:30, only getting slightly lost -- hard to see the turn with the sun right in your eyes! I finally got to see the full video at Journeyville -- LOTS of familiar faces in that fan footage! Heck, I think I've got half the pictures on my computer! About 6:45 the bell rang to alert folks that the concert was soon to begin, so Stacy and I headed to our seats. We were further back than I would have liked, but the Mountain Winery is such an intimate venue (about 1,200 seats) that it wasn't awful.

Just before the band took the stage a voice came over the PA explaining the 30 years concept. I'm pretty sure it was Ross doing his "announcer" voice. Put a smile on my face right off the bat. It was the standard two part show with the older, obscure songs in the first set. I was on my feet when the show started, but other than a few other die-hard fans near me, that was it. Naturally, the ushers came and made us sit down. Siiiiiiggghhhh....

Okay, it's a winery crowd, I get that. They're usually more mellow, definitely more financially well-off (particularly in Saratoga!), but please, people... It's a rock concert... get off your butts! When the guys got to "Where Were You" I couldn't take it any more and was up on my feet and dancing. Fortunately, a chunk of the rest of the crowd recognized the song and were up and moving. I wound up having to sit again for "Feeling That Way"/"Anytime", but, thankfully, the second set was approaching and sitting was NOT going to be an option.

I really like the Mountain Winery (despite the lackluster crowds it often attracts) as it is a beautiful setting for a show. Before heading down into the concert bowl, you can look out from the hillside and see all of the South Bay -- it was simply gorgeous tonight. At intermission I was watching the last of the sunset reflect on the bay and the East Bay hills, and thought "Dang, where's "Lights" when you need it!" The concert bowl itself is beautiful under trees with a very small, low stage backed by the old wine warehouse covered with ivy. Because of the staging, we didn't have any video tonight, but we really didn't need it -- the setting was beautiful all on it's own.

Back in for the second set, and the "dirty dozen" and "some new stuff." Well, sorta. I couldn't believe it -- we only got TWO songs from Generations tonight. "Every Generation" and "Faith in the Heartland." Okay, I'm REALLY bummed about that and even MORE grateful that I got to the Irvine show. The crowd was kind of yo-yo-ing during the second set, but at least more people stayed on their feet so I wasn't forced to sit down. But what I really wanted to do was be down in the front row with Kelly who was just cheering the guys on and trying to get the crowd into it from her excellent seat. I don't think Neal minded too much that she kept getting in his spotlight!

Stacy was fascinated by Neal all night long, which I thought was just great. It's always fun seeing someone with a new perspective on things. Her comment -- "Neal is very dramatic" -- during the "Star Spangled Banner" kind of summed it all up.

Of course, the best part of any hometown show is when the guys launch in to "Lights." Okay, yes, it's one of the "dirty dozen" but they'd be strung up if they didn't play that one in the Bay Area. The crowd was singing so loud that at points they were drowning out the band. YEAH! As Dorothy said, "there's no place like home." Towards the end of the show Steve had an interesting new intro to "Faithfully" that caught my attention, but I'll have to hear again to describe.

The show ended shortly after 10, and we all said our goodbyes -- though it seems like everyone there tonight was either going to be in Vegas or Tahoe, if not both! So, guess we WILL meet again. I'm off to Denver tomorrow, so stay tuned for more from the road....

Set List:

People & Places intro [I still want to hear the WHOLE song!]
Kohoutek
Of a Lifetime [Jon]
I'm Gonna Leave You [Jon]
Nickel & Dime
Mystery Mountain [Jon]
Patiently [Deen]
Where Were You [Deen]
Feeling That Way [Jon/Steve]
Anytime [Jon/Steve]
Any Way You Want It

-- Intermission --

DVD intro
Be Good to Yourself
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Higher Place
Wheel in the Sky
Voodoo Chile/Gypsy Queen [Neal]
Lights
Walks Like a Lady [Ross]
Every Generation [Jon]
Who's Crying Now
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

September 30, 2004: Styx in Journeyland

Saratoga, CA
Mountain Winery

When Journey went out on tour with Styx and REO Speedwagon in 2003, I subscribed to mailing lists for each band. I didn't post often, but I had met a few members of the Styx list, including some from the Bay Area. I remained on the list after the 2003 tour, so when I came out of lurking to let the Bay Area contingent I'd be at the Styx show at the Mountain Winery, I was asked to report back my perspective. This is what I wrote.

It was a great show! I'm going to start my rave at the end because that encore was just amazing! My mom listened to Ray Charles a bit when I was a kid, so to hear such a wonderful tribute was just incredible. And for the second time in two weeks, Jimi Hendrix was resurrected I'm not sure which has amazed me more Neal Schon's cover of "Voodoo Chile" or JY's cover of "Manic Depression." Holy cow! If I'd closed my eyes I woulda sworn Jimi was on stage! Then the cover of "I Am the Walrus." Okay, I am a HUGE Beatles fan and if someone is gonna cover a Beatles song they'd better do it right or just not do it at all. All I can say is John Lennon would be proud. I really think it's incredible when performers pay tribute to their heroes in this manner!

Okay, so as for the rest of the show.... My friends and I arrived just as Styx hit the stage and were pleasantly surprised when the whole crowd was on their feet immediately. Winery shows can be kind of dead sometimes with that whole "wine and cheese" enthusiasm that comes along, so to have the 1200 or so people on their feet that quickly was a treat. Even more amazing, they STAYED on their feet through "More Love for the Money" (which I was grateful came early in the set so I could do a quick duck out for the restroom -- I really like Cyclorama, but if I have to miss a tune those are the ones I'm gonna choose. Sorry folks!) Though I can't figure out quite why everyone then sat down for "Snowblind." From that point on the crowd was a bit of what I call a "yo-yo" crowd. Up, down, up, down... Considering how cold it was, you'd have thought people would have stayed on their feet and danced just to stay warm. (I was almost as cold as I was at Journey's show at Konocti last week, and if there had been a wind in Saratoga last night, I probably WOULD have been! Getting too cold for outdoor shows now. Bummer!) The crowd was pretty awesome though, singing along with loads of enthusiasm. I wish the Journey crowds would sing along as well! That sound of a thousand voices is just such a rush, I can only imagine what the band feels when they hear that kind of response!

The guys really were having a great time on stage, which always makes for a great show. Tommy and JY doing a do-si-do while Lawrence played a little ragtime piano was absolutely hysterical. The stage was pretty low, so JY came out into the crowd at one point and there was a very obvious die-hard Styx fan right there in the front row, who looked to be in 7th heaven! She was having a GREAT night.

The Mountain Winery is really a fun place to see a show, small, intimate, good sound. My only complaint is that the stage is too low for the folks on the floor since the incline of the floor isn't very steep.* This meant that all I really could see well throughout the whole show was the top of JY's head! LOL! Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but Tommy was darned near impossible to see from where I was. (And could someone mention to Ricky Phillips that he needs to cut his hair... from the 19th row when all anyone can see are two dudes with long blonde hair covering their faces and white shirts on their shoulders it makes it a little hard to identify who's playing. A couple of times I said to myself "what the heck is Tommy doing on THIS side of the stage and how'd he get there so fast??!" Thank goodness Ricky took off his jacket about half way through the show so I knew if I saw a flash of blonde hair and a black sleeve I knew who I was looking at! LOL! (And as long as I'm in this non-sequitur ramble, man has Tommy's hair gotten long since last summer!) Okay, where was I? The venue, right... I sure wish I could see more shows there, but alas, they put their full slate of shows on sale all on the same day! That means buying tickets months in advance and since they're always $50+, it's a pretty expensive proposition when you want to see 6-8 shows! Of course, it also means I've been waiting SIX MONTHS to see this show!

*The Mountain Winery remodeled their concert venue in about 2008 and it's laid out MUCH better now than it was then. Still a great place to see an intimate show, despite being a hassle to get to and from.

Shew... that's a lot from a lurker isn't it?? In closing, I'd like to say how glad I am that I've rediscovered Styx the last few years and that I've finally had the opportunity to see them by themselves after having seen them 7 or 8 times with my Journey boys. I'd forgotten how much I loved this band back in the day and how due to the vagaries of being a typical impoverished teenager meant picking up the Journey records instead of the Styx ones when forced to choose that ONE album to buy for the year. Now, if only November would hurry up and get here so I can get a full dose of concert fun while cruisin' the Caribbean!

Oh, and before I forget, I'm sure I've seen it posted before but I've never really paid all that much attention to it -- what are all the songs in the medley?* Other than the really obvious, I didn't recognize much and neither did my friends. It was great, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was more sure what I was hearing!

*I never did get an answer to this question, so I still have no idea what the medley contained other than parts of one song from each album. The only one I remember now is "Mr. Roboto."