Anyone who thought that the passage of time would mellow Ann and Nancy Wilson were dead wrong; in a concert on February 11, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, that consistently brought the capacity crowd to its feet, their band Heart played an old school rock show with big sound, big screaming guitars, and big vocals.
The Wilson sisters have been performing together for almost four decades, and it shows. Since their debut album Dreamboat Annie in 1976, the sisters have learned to play off one another and build a very tight rock show. Friday night’s concert was a celebration of their long career, with a set list that included, as Ann explained it, “some of the very old, and some of the brand new.”
Opening the show with a heavy version of “Cook With Fire”, Heart set the tone early; they were here to bring a fully leaded version of rock classics that were sure to thrill an audience filled with diehard fans, many of whom were probably around to pick up Heart’s debut album themselves. Ann’s vocals were in phenomenal form from the first note, prompting one woman in the crowd to exclaim, “she’s still got it!”
Touring Canada to support their 13th studio album, Red Velvet Car, the Wilsons seemed comfortable mixing in Heart classics with newer material. “Hey You” off the new album gave Nancy a chance to showcase her vocal skills, singing a pretty song that had a warm, familiar feel to it. “WTF” was introduced by Ann as “loud and nasty”; she wasn’t wrong.
With heavy distortion and an intense unrelenting beat, “WTF” was one of the few tracks through the evening when the crowd seemed disconnected. The title track was more enthusiastically received; “Red Velvet Car” was reminiscent of Bill Withers’s hauntingly beautiful “Ain’t No Sunshine”.
The new material was fine, but that wasn’t what most had come for. The biggest ovations came from the hits, the rock anthems that helped Heart to sell more than 30 million albums. Standouts included “Magicman”, “Straight On”, “Barracuda”, the re-imagined “Dog and Butterfly” and the powerful “Crazy on You”.
The highlight of the night was “Alone”, a master class by Ann in how to sing a big rock ballad. She brought the crowd to its feet for an extended ovation, prompting a moved Ann to comment, “wow, thank you so much, I feel like I just sang the national anthem!”
Ann could definitely teach today’s rock singers a thing or two. Without lip synching, pitch correction, or hiding behind a bevy of back-up singers, Wilson used her powerhouse voice to wow the crowd throughout the night.
Her partner in music and sisterhood, Nancy, showed that she hasn’t lost a step either. Her wicked picking proved that she is still an exceptional guitar player, and her solo intro to “Crazy on You” was brilliant. Her harmonies, if occasionally overshadowed by Ann, created that signature Heart vocal resonance that endeared them to millions.
She was also fun to watch, bouncing around on the side of the stage, constantly flipping her long mane of hair over her face and back again, rock star style. Will Schuester might teach the Glee kids about hairography, but he has nothing on Nancy Wilson.
The rest of the band proved to be more than capable, backing up the Wilsons and providing the perfect backdrop for them to shine. The band was made up of keyboard player Debbie Shair (her pigtails winning the award for funkiest hair), bassist Kristian Attard, drummer Ben Smith, and subdued lead guitarist Craig Bartock.
The first encore included, surprisingly, no Heart tunes. Ann asked the audience to “go with her someplace completely different,” before launching into Led Zeppelin’s “What is and What Should Never Be”. She did Robert Plant proud, although she backed off on Plant’s signature wailing at the end. The second tune in the encore, The Who’s “Love Reign O’er Me”, was a powerful showcase for Wilson’s vocals, matching Roger Daltrey note for note, perhaps even doing him one better on the final primal scream that concludes the rock anthem.
To the delight of the crowd, Heart came back out for an unusual second encore. Dipping back into their early repertoire, the band concluded the show with the serene “Dreamboat Annie”. It felt subdued compared with the vocal tour de force that was “Love Reign O’er Me”, but by coming full circle with their earliest hit, was a fitting way to end the evening.
Paul de Burger - Paul de Burger is from Toronto, Canada. His writing has been published in the Singapore Straits-Times, Summerland Review, Retail ...
