Concert review: Heart at WinStar World Casino (August 28)

by Brett Ryder of McKinneyNews.net

Twenty or so minutes before the show began in earnest, John Lennon’s “She’s So Heavy” -- its famous undulating blues groove spewing from the house speakers -- anointed the evening, making sure those in attendance knew what they were in for. For those perhaps a bit musically obtuse, Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” came next, surely solidifying the message: the Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy, came not to preen and strut, but to rock the house down.

At precisely 9 p.m. Friday, Heart, a band made famous by two exceptionally talented singing and songwriting sisters out of Seattle some three decades ago, engaged the clutch, jammed the band into first, and smoked the tires with a galloping rendition of -- what else? -- “Barracuda,” as the more than 2,300 (mostly balding and gray hairs) in attendance roared with appreciation. The accolades were for what has made this band, or perhaps more succinctly, the Wilson sisters, famous: Ann’s soaring-into-the-stratosphere, armor-piercing vocal and Nancy’s churning guitar.

But the energy associated with perhaps the band’s most recognized toothy mid-to-late 70s hits (“Barracuda,” “Straight On”) soon abated as the six-piece ensemble, long absent any original members besides Ann and Nancy, moved from its more organic, rock material into the hairspray and stiletto boots of the lollipop '80s.

This isn’t to say that million-selling hits such as “What About Love,” “Alone,” and “These Dreams,” weren’t warmly appreciated – they were. But midway through the evening’s show at the WinStar World Casino, a decided emotional lull descended upon the almost-at-capacity crowd – a lull that even refused to be energized by the novelty of a couple of unexpected appearances: Led Zeppelin’s (should have been) raucous “Immigrant Song” and the more sedate “Going To California.”

It’s hard to predict what will energize a rock'n'roll crowd – especially a rock'n'roll crowd over 50. But one thing’s for sure: band attitude and energy are important. If a band, for whatever reason, isn’t feeling it, the “downer” vibe – or malaise -- will be conveyed to the audience. And this is where the potentially politically incorrect portion of this review rears its ugly head.

For most of the evening, the obviously overweight, and at times visibly winded, Ann did little more than clutch the microphone and sing.

Perhaps to musical purists, this sort of unanimated performance is irrelevant, or at least should be considered so. And to be sure, the voice that helped sell more than 30 million albums was, as usual, virtually perfect.

It’s difficult to comment on another person’s weight, to make a moral judgment. But rock'n'roll, for better or worse, is more than writing songs and going into the studio to produce a perfect album or hit single. Rock'n'roll is about attitude and charisma, it’s about hitting the streets and rolling through hundreds of venues a year stirring up whatever hormones are required to get fists stabbing the air and butts off the seats.

It’s not that any of this was beyond Heart Friday night. Indeed, they tapped into their sledgehammer '70s pedigree early in the show and returned to that same hard-hitting era at the end, launching into “Magic Man” for their encore, an encore, curiously, that had the masses out of their chairs and on their feet once again.

Who knows? Perhaps it wasn’t Ann’s heft bogging the band down through the middle part of the 85-minute show. Maybe it was the material in general. Maybe more than a few of the 40-50-year-olds in attendance have come to realize (and appreciate) that Heart is, as the band obviously has always wanted to be, a rock'n'roll outfit first and foremost.