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For Heart fans who thought it might have been all over, they will be happy to hear that Heart is back. Of course, some may not have ever realized they were gone. In the 21st century, it’s very common for classic rock bands to go on a long hiatus between albums and tours. Just look at the Rolling Stones; they took 18 years between new studio albums. Nonetheless, for those who may have been wondering and possibly heard rumors that the band Heart broke up, or should we say Nancy and Ann split up, it’s all not true.
On Wednesday, December 27, 2023, Heart played their first concert since 2019 at Southern California’s Yaamava’ Resort & Casino. The band played a fifteen song set and then came back on stage for a two-song encore. The group opened with the title track from their most underrated Bebe Le Stange album. They then dove into a scorching version of “Never” from their 1985 album Heart. That was an album that many hardcore heart fans disliked because of the addition of outside songwriters to the band. Nonetheless, there was no denying how successful that album was on a commercial level, introducing the band to a bigger audience than ever.
The Wilson sisters realize that old-time Heart fans want to hear the classics from the 1970s as the band filled the first half of the set with fan favorites like “Magic Man, Little Queen, Love Alive, and Straight On”. One of the surprises to appear in the center of the set was a cover of David Bowie’s “Let Dance.” However, Ann Wilson had performed the song before as she toured as a solo artist.
After a fabulous version of “Mistral Wind,” Heart slammed into a cover version of Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean.” The band closed their set with the fan favorite “Barracuda.” Heart brought back their Led Zeppelin experience for the encores, delivering two Led Zeppelin classics from Led Zeppelin’s fourth album. Heart has been doing “The Battle Of Evermore,” for years. They seem to have added “Stairway To Heaven” as part of their setlist, possibly because of the enormous reception they received when they performed that at the Kennedy Center Honors Awards dinner in front of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones back in 2012 and how they blew everyone away with their performance of “Stairway To Heaven.”
There were rumors of some personal issues between the sisters that caused Heart to stop touring. Ann and Nancy have been heard to have said that everything is fine between them. That is good news for Heart fans to hear. The Heart concert this past week was not just a one night only appearance. The Heart website has more dates scheduled for a New Year’s Eve show in Seattle and a few stadium gigs during the summer in Boston, Cleveland, and Toronto. Hopefully, they will be adding more dates soon.
article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
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