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JOAN JETT, Heart deadly combo on tour
from: calgarysun.com
BY STEPHANIE MCKAY | Photo by Greg Pender
They may both be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but JOAN JETT and Heart don't belong in a museum. On Wednesday night in Saskatoon, they proved they belong on stage.
The Queens of Sheba Tour pairs the rock legends, a deadly combo responsible for some of the most enduring songs of the 20th century.
Jett took the stage with little fanfare. No smoke, no explosions, just a band starting its show. She introduced the set by saying "We're the BLACKHEARTS from New York City." She is, of course, the star attraction but she's cool enough to share the spotlight with her four bandmates.
Jett started her set with a double shot of hits, Bad Reputation and the RUNAWAYS hit Cherry Bomb. Her voice has a few extra rasps but they only give her extra rock star cred.
Forty years into her career Jett is still the coolest person in any room. She continues to carry the torch for female rockers with her bad ass vocals and battered Gibson Melody Maker.
The 13-song set list ranged from newer tunes like 2013's Make It Back to the very first song she ever wrote You Drove Me Wild, another RUNAWAYS tune. Lesser known songs like The Light of Day (penned by Bruce Springsteen and featured in the Jett/Michael J. Fox movie of the same name) and Any Weather (which she wrote with Dave Grohl) gave the set some depth.
But when you wrote hits like I Love Rock 'n' Roll, it pays to get back to what people know. Jett got big responses to that, her most well-known song, and I Hate Myself for Loving You.
Her encore of Sly and the Family Stone's I Am Everyday People was an odd choice, but it worked. It seems wrong to call her a warmup act, but Jett primed the crowd nicely.
Heart managed to take things up a notch. The band (the core of which has always been Ann and Nancy Wilson) has played Saskatoon a few times in the last five years, but always at the much smaller TCU Place.
Singer Ann Wilson and guitarist Nancy Wilson, along with their band, had no trouble bringing the showmanship and sound to a larger space.
Ann's voice is one of the seven wonders of the music world (along with Mick Jagger's hips and Neil Peart's timing). She must store her lungs in a Mylar sleeve.
The band opened with Magic Man, then slipped into Heartless, both 70s hits. What About Love, in all of its power ballad glory, was next.
"We're going to take you all lots of places tonight," Ann said early in the show. Heart's career has travelled through several decades and styles. They gave fans of the love songs ample time to swoon with These Dreams and Alone, but brought the hard-edge on songs like Barracuda and Crazy on You. The latter featured an extended, acoustic guitar intro by Nancy, who celebrated her 62nd birthday on Wednesday.
"I remember when you were born," said her sister Ann, who teased her throughout the night that Nancy, the youngest of three Wilson sisters, always gets her way.
One has to assume that's true for both of them after decades of forging their own path, including creating songs like 1980's Even It Up, which they wrote after becoming disgruntled at the lack of equality for women in music.
The formidable sisters are currently joined on stage by the solid lineup of Ben Smith, Craig Bartock, Chris Joyner and Dan Rothchild.
In the end, Heart's timeless talent is what sticks with you after the show. They offer nostalgia in a way that still feels modern and vital. |
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