Heart Was A Winning Bet In Atlantic City
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Rock legends Heart opened their tour in Atlantic City NJ and let’s just say they rocked the house. There were concerns over Ann Wilson’s health, would she be able to deliver the goods? The answer was a resounding YES!. She kicked the crap out of cancer, had a bad fall that saw her do some shows from a wheelchair. She is no longer using the wheelchair but she is sitting for the majority of the show. When she does stand, she was greeted with applause.
Heart billed this as two sets. That’s not really what happened. You would expect a short intermission and the band walks off stage. In reality, they did “Silver Wheels”, “Crazy On You” and then Nancy sat down and did an acoustic number called “For Edward”,which she dedicated to Edward Van Halen. The two were friends and she got him into playing acoustic guitar. After that, the rest of the band came back on stage.
In case you wanted to leave to hit the snack bar or the tables, the band went right into “Love Alive”. Truly a song not to be missed when played live. Heart is known for their covers and last night was no different. They did “The Ocean” and “Going To California” from Led Zeppelin. When. they played “Straight On” from the Dog and Buttlerfly they segued right into “Let’s Dance” from David Bowie.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com Nancy Wilson shows how it’s done.
That was the only drawback. Instead of covers, this band could have played an original song like “Sing Child”, “Shell Shocked” or any other original. How cool would it be to hear “Cook With Fire” again?.
The crowd was really into Heart, which resulted in people standing. When they played the Spectrum in the 1970’s and 80″s, a seat was a formality. Everyone stood. Last night, many people who were too old to stand for such bangers as “Little Queen” could only bitch at the true rockers that wanted to stand and rock out. Perhaps they should get seats in the back, where it’s elevated and they can sit and not be disturbed.
ALEX LLOYD GROSS Photo-Delaware Valley News.com Nancy Wilson from Heart
The last song was “Barracuda”. Heart did not leave the stage for an encore, nor did they take a bow.The concert lasted about 90 minutes. If this tour is anywhere near you, it would be in your best interest to catch it.