It had been 6 years since I last came to Istanbul. Chris Isaak was probably the only person who could make me leave Kaş and go to Istanbul for a few days. Or maybe we can add Tool to that list.
Why? Imagine a street interview, and you’ve probably seen this kind of thing before, where the host asks people what their favorite song is. Then they play that song for other people, ask them theirs, and a video loop begins. Well, if someone asked me what my favorite song is, I would say Wicked Game. Even though I’m a rock and metal-based listener, yes, that would be my answer.
I bought the tickets 6 months ago. Good thing I did, because the concert was completely sold out. After the first 3 songs, Chris walked into the audience and sang the next 3 songs among the crowd. He stayed on stage with a setlist much longer than a normal one.
Why do I love this man’s songs so much? As I’ve mentioned in my other posts, I love guitar arpeggios. The genius behind those arpeggios, James Calvin Wilsey, was not on stage today, and in fact he hasn’t been for 20 years. I wanted to mention his name, because one of the most important parts in the creation of these songs belongs to him.
Speaking specifically about Chris Isaak, we should not forget this: the man is 69 years old right now. He ran on stage, jumped around, and never stood still. I was expecting some vocal deformation, but there was NONE. The videos don’t fully capture the volume he performs with live; he delivered the original head voice parts in Lie To Me and Wicked Game exactly as they are. He truly created some magical moments.
The theater where the concert took place was truly big and impressive. The only problem was this: I’m recording a video, and someone walks right in front of me. People kept passing by constantly. At one point, it turned into such an absurd situation that the area in front of us became a highway. The venue needs to fix this. Another issue was the audience. The man is singing Wicked Game, and there were people going to the restroom. I had never seen a crowd so disconnected from the moment.
It was a beautiful experience. Watching a musician live, whose one lyric I love enough to have tattooed on my body, was a priceless experience. I recommend it.
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I dedicated the day after the concert to friends and the Rahmi Koç Museum.
After leaving the hotel and having a quick breakfast, we jumped straight into a taxi and headed to the museum. It was genuinely great. As soon as you walk in, you immediately understand that it is a very full and rich museum. Think of it like this: the man put everything from his childhood to the present day into that museum, and we felt like we were inside a time journey. It was a magnificent museum. It was interesting to learn that Rahmi Koç had such a strong interest in maritime history and boats.
Then we immediately took a taxi to Beşiktaş. We met up with Caner there. Caner knows the game; after a quick meal, he immediately took us to a place that had both hookah and alcohol. As you know, I don’t drink alcohol, so I continued with hookah. =) The conversation was good. We talked about Caner’s game projects. He is one of those rare people I meet once or twice a year and still manage to have a fully efficient conversation with.
After we were done meeting Caner, we went to Cevahir. We started waiting there to meet Berk. We were supposed to meet in Taksim, but everywhere was closed because of the LGBT march. So we changed the plan at the last minute and met in Karaköy.
There is a place called Galata Port now, and we went there. It really has become a beautiful seaside mall. After quickly demolishing some fajitas, we looked for a comfortable place where we could actually sit and talk. Since everywhere in Karaköy is very narrow and uncomfortable, we made another radical decision and went to Huqqa Kuruçeşme. The hookah was not bad. The atmosphere was strange; the inside had a bit of a mini Dubai vibe. We sat with Berk for 2 hours and talked about the old basketball days. We talked about his new projects and my projects. It was nice.
The short 2-day vacation was packed from start to finish. There were actually a few more people who had written and wanted to meet, but there wasn’t enough time. Next time.
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By the way, on the way back to the airport, I ran into one of Turkey’s important CEO hunters on the metro. I ran after him but couldn’t catch up. Then I wrote to him on LinkedIn. Thankfully, he replied and left his email address. So we managed to make a small networking move during a short 2-day vacation as well. =D
