After many years of trying to get Heart to play the summer concert series at Artpark, July 24, 2012 was the day the band finally came to town. A sell out crowd greeted the band as they took the stage a little later (8:15pm) than when the headliners normally take the stage there (8pm.) The anticipation was worth the wait and a thunderous ovation greeted the band as they went into the title track of their upcoming release called “Fanatic.”
Heart played 4 new tracks, and in speaking with drummer Ben smith before the show, he said expect this to be a more up-tempo rocking CD than 2010 studio release “Red Velvet Car.” We plan on doing a full CD review of “Fanatic” so we won’t get into the intricate details of each new song here, but stay tuned for that. I can tell you, you will enjoy the new songs, especially “Dear Old America” and “59 Crunch” which live up to the hype of what Ben was describing.
Besides Ann and Nancy Wilson, Craig Bartock on lead guitar, Debbie Shair on keyboards and Ben Smith on drums, the band has been the same now for almost 8 years minus the exception of newcomer Dan Rothchild on bass.
“Mistral Wind” off of 1978’s ‘Dog & Butterfly’ album is always the show stopper. Seeing this live really encompasses the bands talents as whole and especially pushes Ann’s powerful voice to the forefront. If still not convinced of that then hearing “Alone” will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Yes…it’s that good!
In watching Nancy take command of the stage she still has that swagger that adorns the hearts of men and women young and old. Even though Nancy, who you can still consider a newlywed (was married on May 1, 2012), continues to exude that sensual adulation that still makes men fawn over her when performing. Aside from her looks, it’s her playing that really captures the respect and admiration of many.
Heart has never been better live in my opinion. They have the perfect backing band and the seasoned Dan Rothchild (Beck, Shakira, Melissa Etheridge) is starting to find his niche along with the others. Ann and Nancy both seemed pleased with the overall crowd response and fed off it for one of the best Heart shows I have ever witnessed.
That’s saying something since I have seen them approximately 20 times! Like fine wine they keep getting better and better!
Set List:
Fanatic (new song)
Heartless
Magic Man
What About Love
Mistral Wind
Even It Up
Straight On
Walking Good (new song)
These Dreams Alone
Dear Old America (new song)
Crazy on You
Barracuda
Encore:
59 Crunch (new song)
Love Reign O’er Me (The Who cover)
We would like to thank Chip Schutzman from Miles High Productions for the photo pass and Maria Costello from Artpark for the tickets to review the show.
