|
All news is attributed to the source from which it was received so that readers may judge the validity of the statements for themselves.
Have Joan Jett news to report? Email us at jettfc@aol.com, and please include the source of the information so it can be validated.
There's a reason these women are hall-of-famers
from: calgarysun.com
BY GERRY KROCHAK
A double bill of recent Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame royalty was an early spring fling for a capacity crowd of rockers, old and new-ish, Monday evening at the fabulous Southern Jubilee Auditorium.
Heart's human siren, Ann Wilson, her guitar-toting sister, Nancy, and a legendary Runaway have been inspiring women in rock since the '70s. All combined, the troika have broken down every barrier to the extent that no one even uses the term "women in rock" anymore.
Inexplicably, 65-year-old Ann's voice seems only to get stronger with each successive visit to these parts. She's sometimes referred to as the female Robert Plant, but maybe the Golden God of rock and roll is the male Ann Wilson.
Following the brash, high-energy punk and roll of JOAN JETT is never easy, but Heart was up to the task - and then some.
From the opening strains of Magic Man from the 1976 landmark Dreamboat Annie album, which quickly segued into Heartless from Magazine (1977), Ann had jaws on the floor with her ferocious vocal power and control. Looking trim, fit and fantastic in blue and black, indeed, she would rule the night like very few can.
But the group collective also meant business while knocking out one timeless rock classic after another. Ann killed it through What About Love (she even makes the 80s-era softballs sound spectacular), while Nancy then belted out a nifty lead during Straight On from '78s Dog And Butterfly before taking the mic for a lead vocal on the syrupy mega hit, These Dreams.
Fans didn't have to wait for the heavy artillery - the group played the songs that were expected and threw in a few surprises. That's never a bad thing. The surprises (pleasant in this case) came in the form of a Lovemongers (Ann and Nancy's mostly acoustic side project) cover, Sand, and a brand new number called, simply, Two.
It was back to the monsters with an absolutely stunning vocal performance from Ann on Alone (easily the best of the band's 1980s pop balladry), before a '70s rock blitzkrieg with Even It Up, Bebe Le Strange, Crazy On You and, of course, Barracuda.
It never gets old and it's on nights like these that you're just thankful for the music. Sometimes you can go back ... if only for a night.
Not so much opening the show as co-headlining, Jett also had plenty to say during the Calgary edition of the aptly-moniker-ed Queens Of Sheba tour.
The original tough chick with a guitar had the crowd gyrating out of their seats early with Bad Reputation, the RUNAWAYS nugget Cherry Bomb, and then on their feet singing along with Garry Glitter's Do You Want To Touch Me (Oh Yeah).
Like Heart, the 57-year-old, head-to-toe leather-clad and Converse Chuck Taylor-wearing fireball is all attitude, and also knows how to play to the crowd while maintaining the integrity that has marked her career from Day One. She threw out a couple of newer numbers before giving it up with the Michael J. Fox (and hers truly) movie soundtrack title cut, Light Of Day, a venue-wide sing-a-long of the 1981 classic, I Love Rock And Roll, and her patented cover of the Tommy James & The Shondells nugget, Crimson & Clover.
The infectious chorus of I Hate Myself For Loving You and a cover of Sly & The Family Stone's Everyday People closed a simply perfect one-hour set of timeless rock and roll ...and the right three chords.
Great to see Jett back in these parts after her October performance with The Who was postponed. |
| |
This Week:
No shows scheduled this week.
Click on the LIVE DATES link for upcoming shows |
Item Of The Month:
|
