« Heart Live at Massey Hall—Thursday, March 21, 2013 »

That I am a fan of what is commonly referred to as Classic Rock is of no surprise to the people who know me. I am a child of the 70s, and I came of age in what many consider one of the richest periods in rock music. As a teenager, I loved prog rock, glam rock, hard rock, and was often tethered to the aisles of the downtown location of Sam the Record Man, looking for new treasure. That said, I am finding myself, in 2013, checking out many classic-era bands that I have never connected with live despite their presence in my vinyl collection.

Heart is one of those bands. I have always been a great admirer of the Wilson sisters, Ann for her incredible vocal range and ability to deliver a melody with passion and strength, and Nancy for showing the world that one can be graceful and powerful at the same time. The two sisters were early inspirations for me, and despite making my fictional Sarah Nolan a redhead, she was infused with the spirit of Ann Wilson (and Stevie Nicks) long before she ever hit the page.

Last Thursday night, I finally went to see Heart, at the venerable and acoustically perfect Massey Hall in Toronto. The venue is an architectural beauty, though the seats themselves are not always comfortable and some sections have structural pillars and posts blocking a perfect view. No matter—it was all about the sound for me, and how Heart would hold up after more than 30 years. They not only held up, but they blew me away. I have to admit that I am no great fan of their more successful songs, which are always the ones getting radio airplay: Barracuda, Heartless, Magic Man, Crazy on You, Kick It Out, these are the titles that people know best and the ones that do it the least for me. I suppose it is the over-exposure on classic rock radio, but I tend to feel the same way about The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, which is akin to blasphemy in Who circles. The gems of the night for me were the beautiful calypso rendition of Dreamboat Annie, and the Asian-flavoured arrangement of my favourite song, Dog and Butterfly. Those two numbers alone were worth the price of the ticket.

But the evening was about much more to me. It was about watching two supremely confident and talented older women still kicking out with determination and passion, mastering their instruments and showing their fans how tight and musically adept they still are, and how women are just as able in a rock world that still largely belongs to men. It was about the beauty of the lyrics, the reflection of the journey taken together as sisters, which is something I get on such a personal level. At the end of the show, they came out with opening act Simon Townshend to do their second encore, after a masterful version of Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog. Hearing ‘Love Reign o’er Me’ as their final song of the night was a beautiful thing, because you could not only sense that deep bond between the sisters in every note, but it was a touching way to include their support act and come full circle after his amazing performance to start the evening.