From the N&O archives: Lisa Marie Presley brought her musical act to NC 20 years ago

This concert review was originally published in The News & Observer on Aug. 1, 2003, following her concert July 30, 2003, at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, North Carolina (then called Regency Park Amphitheater). Presley died Jan. 12, 2023, after being hospitalized for a medical emergency.

Review: Lisa Marie Presley brings ‘presence of royalty’ as she opens for Chris Isaak

Some people come naturally to the stage, while others have it thrust upon them. Lisa Marie Presley definitely fits into the latter category.

During her performance at Regency Park on Wednesday (the same day that her late father’s original producer/mentor Sam Phillips died), Presley hung onto her microphone stand as if it were a mountain-climbing rope. She hardly moved, and kept lyric cheat sheets on a nearby music stand, “’cause I space out up here.”

She seemed about as relaxed as a teenage girl on a first date arranged by her father — which she was, sort of, because curiosity accounts for much of the attention that Elvis Presley’s daughter is getting nowadays.

But anybody expecting Elvis covers came away disappointed, because Lisa Marie stuck with originals from her debut album “To Whom It May Concern” (Capitol Records). U2 seems like a bigger influence on Presley than her dad; her songs tend toward arena rock with lots of airy guitars and “big” choruses.

It was difficult to tell how good a singer she was because the six-piece backup band drowned her out a good bit of the time. But Presley acquitted herself well enough, especially on “Nobody Noticed It” and the single “Lights Out.”

Vocal technique aside, the evening’s real draw was just being in the presence of royalty. Lisa Marie might possess mere echoes of her father’s star power, but that’s still lots more than most of us lesser mortals rate. She walked onstage looking like a cross between Elvis and Elvira, with lots of dark eye shadow, which gave her radiant smile an almost endearing nervousness.

One thing Presley has yet to master is that delicate balance between being grateful for an audience’s adoration and expecting it. Earnest and awkward, she did a little too much thumbs-up and pointing at people — and also engaged in far too much conversation with individuals in the audience. That said, the crowd response was highly positive.

Lisa Marie could learn a thing or two about onstage ease from headliner Chris Isaak, whose 90-minute set was the essence of easygoing professionalism. If all you know of Isaak are his moody album covers and torchy 1989 hit single “Wicked Game,” you might be surprised to learn that he missed his true calling: television talk-show host. Isaak livened things up with Letterman-esque sendups in which his bandmates served as the butt of many, many ribald jokes.

Isaak turned 47 in June, but appeared to have stopped aging at age 28 or so. He looked sharp as ever in a blue sequined suit, and showed he can still hit and hold high notes amazingly well. Along with a generous assortment of originals (“Wicked Game,” “Somebody’s Cryin’” and “Blue Hotel” among them), his set offered an affectionate cover of the Roy Orbison classic “Only the Lonely.”

By the time the encore rolled around and Isaak held up his guitar to show “THANKS A LOT” printed on the back, the crowd was completely won over.