On the Beat with Yusuf (aka Cat Stevens)

Steven Demetre Georgiou made great music as Cat Stevens and Yusuf Islam. On Tuesday night at the Chicago Theater, he delighted the audience with songs from both of those and much more.

Yusuf opened with “The Wind” and closed with “Father and Son.” In between were 23 other great tunes divided almost evenly by a 30 minute break. He finished with a four song encore finally ending with “All Kinds of Roses.”

Of course, Yusuf played the hits from his Cat Stevens’ era. As expected, the audience erupted for “Moonshadow,” ”Peace Train,” and his other classics. The mostly older crowd also was (somewhat surprisingly) very into his newer material, such as “Editing Floor Blues.” Indeed, this evening showcased the best of both worlds.

Yusuf also dipped into other worlds, too. His version of Procol Harum’s “The Devil Came from Kansas” was intense, as was the response from the crowd. Equally as captivating were his other covers, including Edgar Winter’s “Dying to Live.” My favorite though was his take on Sam Cooke’s “Another Saturday Night.”

Throughout the night, Yusuf showed his versatility, ripping through edgy numbers and mellowing out through folksy songs. Yusuf brilliantly lead us through a two hour tour of rock, folk, blues and everything in between.

I am not a musical scholar. This was my first foray into covering music. I did get a small chuckle when Yusuf broke into “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” a song he originally wrote, which has been recorded by a few other artists. The “music reporter” next to me said he was surprised to hear Yusuf do Sheryl Crow’s song. Score one for Johngy.

Fans had been waiting over 30 years for Yusuf to tour the US. For the Tuesday Chicago Theater crowd, that wait is now over, replaced with great memories of a fantastic evening with Cat and Yusuf.

Set List

1. The Wind

2. Here Comes My Baby

3. The First Cut Is the Deepest

4. Thinking ‘Bout You

5. Sitting

6. Maybe You’re Right

7. Where Do the Children Play?

8. I Love My Dog

9. I Was Raised in Babylon

10. (Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard

11. People Get Ready (Impressions)

12. If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

Intermission

13. Big Boss Man (Jimmy Reed)

14. Trouble

15. Oh Very Young

16. Dying to Live (Edgar Winter)

17. Moonshadow

18. You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis)

19. Foreigner Suite excerpt

20. Wild World

21. The Devil Came From Kansas (Procol Harum)

22. Take This Hammer (Leadbelly)

23. Another Saturday Night (Sam Cooke)

24. Peace Train

25. Father and Son

Encore

26. Editing Floor Blues

27. Miles From Nowhere

28. Morning Has Broken

29. All Kinds of Roses