In fact, when the concert organizer told me "off the record" which artists they were looking at bringing for SummerFest, I had a really hard time keeping my mouth shut.
I mean, we were talking about one of the top three bands/musicians I wanted to see live. We're talking about the band whose song I refused to stop singing even after a dancing cowboy had broken three bones in my foot.
We're talking about Heart. The Wilson sisters. Ann & Nancy.
These girls set the stage for chick rockers everywhere. They proved that girls can rock as hard as guys.
Their music was part of the inspiration for me to make Heather a musician in Long Road. (That, and the write what you know thing...)
So, having these women play a concert in my hometown. Oh my goodness! I don't even have to travel to Omaha? Or Sioux Falls? Or Council Bluffs? They're coming to my hometown?
They did.
Last Saturday, I hunkered down in the back lawn at Divots with several thousand other excited Heart fans and caught their show.
Already primed from the opening acts -- Ivory Star and Eddie Money -- I knew from the opening bars of Barracuda that this concert was going to be great. And let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed.
Annie still has the pipes; Nancy still whips out the licks.
They displayed an incredible amount of talent, pounding out original classics like "Mistral Wind," "Never," and "Straight On." They also wowed the audience with ripping covers of old Led Zeppelin tunes like "The Immigrant Song" (think Jack Black on School of Rock) and "Going to California." They slowed it down with "These Dreams" and an acoustic version of "Alone" and even gave the audience a taste of their new material by playing a song they dedicated "to Michael." (I can only assume they meant Mr. Jackson.)
To close out the show, they hammered out "Magic Man" as pitch perfect as the studio version of the song. (What an awesome solo!)
My three sisters and I went home the happiest, most sunscorched music fans alive. They're already talking about catching the next act Divots brings to town.
I doubt anyone could top Heart.
5 comments:
They are so cool. I used to want to be Nancy so bad.
I agree - Heart rocks.I have good eighties memories of the videos for "What About Love" and "These Dreams."
Oooh, that is so cool! They are one of those bands that I have enjoyed so many of their songs, without really even knowing that they were Heart songs until someone told me.
I'm with Kate. Theirs are songs I've heard on the radio, and as I've gotten older and finally started paying attention to who's singing what, I've realized, I really like Heart!
So glad you got to see them!
I just found you... Love your blog. Female rocker here, too. Loved your video. Thanks for giving me a huge smile.
Rock on Mama! -)
PS I'd hang my picture here as a follower but couldn't find your follower list... added you just the same. Twitter, too.
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