“We’re making our way across Canada right now, because this is where we started!” So declared Heart lead vocalist Ann Wilson to an adoring, sold out crowd at Toronto’s Massey Hall. Heart has been on a 20-city tour across the land where it all began and they have been blowing people’s minds at every stop. The Toronto show was no different.
The band took the stage to the undulating beats of Cook With Fire, Nancy wearing a customized hockey jersey with the band’s name emblazoned across the front. When Ann walked out and took her place at centre stage, the crowd went ballistic. The band blasted through a series of hits from the 70s and 80s, including Heartless, What About Love and Straight On and a very beautifully reworked version of Dog and Butterfly, with Ann’s voice soaring and sinuously wrapping around the lyrics.
The apotheosis of the night may have been Ann’s spectacular delivery of their song, Alone
Nancy took the spotlight to sing two Heart hits, their first number one, These Dreams—beautifully done on mandolin with Ann gently strumming a black acoustic guitar behind her. She then brought out a dulcimer and performed their latest hit, Hey You, a sing-along acoustic romp with a “na-na-na-na-na” chorus, yet with deceptively melancholic lyrics. Ann took the mic for the title track from their latest album, Red Velvet Car, a song about undying love and support for a friend.
The apotheosis of the night may have been Ann’s spectacular delivery of another number one song, Alone. Stripped down from its 80s bombast and flash, the song was done with just Nancy’s acoustic guitar and Debbie Shair’s keyboards. Ann’s voice was front-and-centre as she deftly handled the changing keys until she came to the climax of the song with a passionate roar that showed she is still one of the finest, most powerful singers in music—and brought the entire audience to its feet for a thunderous ovation.
From then on it was unabashed rock: the new screed, WTF, followed by a trio of classics, Magic Man, Crazy on You and Barracuda. The band came back for two encores, Zeppelin’s What is and What Should Never Be and the Who’s Love Reign O’er Me, both showing the band’s dexterity and passion, and, of course, Ann Wilson’s remarkable pipes. After a few minutes of unbridled cheering, Heart took the stage for one last song, the title track from the album that got it all started back in 1976, Dreamboat Annie. It was a poignant and deliciously sweet end to the show.
Enjoy this clip from Toronto show (and check out Ann’s awesome boots):
Aside form going to a concert and enjoying the performance, I’ve always been in the habit of checking out who else is there. Since I like rock bands, I long ago got in the habit of having a look at who was in the crowd. I think part of it was self-preservation because I’m gay and was nervous I’d be “spotted” by possible bashers. But the other thing was to see if there were any other gay folks there. To my surprise, I started to notice more and more gay men and women at rock concerts—particularly at Heart concerts. Hey, I went to last week’s Toronto show with a few gay men, one straight woman, and we later met lots of lesbians.
“I think that a lot of gay people…appreciate the power in individuality that we represent, inside
of a restrictive culture.” – Nancy Wilson
Before Heart set off on their current Canadian tour, I asked Nancy why she thought Heart has such a large gay following. As best she can figure, it’s because “we always broke the mold, and never have conformed to the prescribed sexual agendas of typical expectations.” She went on to explain, “I think that a lot of gay people relate to us and appreciate the power in individuality that we represent, inside of a restrictive culture.”
Certainly, Ann and Nancy were outsiders in the male-dominated rock world when they got started and they wouldn’t play the game when it came to sexism and other favours that were expected from them by some people in the industry back in those days. Being a woman in rock was one thing. Being gay in rock was another. Though neither Ann nor Nancy is gay, they have lots of friends in the industry who are, including Rufus Wainwright and Elton John (both of whom sang with Ann on her recent solo album, Hope and Glory). As well, they support LGBT causes, performing at a variety of benefits.
I wondered if it has changed or gotten any easier for gays in the rock world or is it still relatively status quo. “I think it’s more appreciated than ever across the board worldwide,” Nancy opined. “But the boys club in America still drives us nuts, too.”
Over the past 35 years, Ann and Nancy Wilson have created incredible music inside Heart, as solo artists and in their “hobby band” the Lovemongers (a band that spawned the society of diehard fans called the Heartmongers). Through the years they have performed with power, passion—and dignity. They never compromised their art or their ethics. I think that’s one of the reasons fans have been so devoted and loyal to these women.
I asked Nancy that, when all is said and done, how would she like to be remembered in music history. She said, “I would like to be remembered like a romantic poet, and a one-of-a-kind-goddess.”
Hey Nancy…done and done!
