Heart w/ Tonic
Uptown Amphitheatre
Sept. 6, 2009
The Deal: Classic rockers bring along radio favorites.
The Good: Tonic is one of theose bands who you've probably heard, but can't name one song off of the top of your head. It's the "Ohhhhh yeah... I know that song..." factor. So, of course, there was a big sing along during "If You Could Only See."
Heart hit the stage with "guns blazing." Nancy Wilson walked out to the front of the stage (sadly, the only time any band member strayed far from their microphone stand) and kicked off the opening riff to "Barracuda." Not a bad start to a set that lasted roughly an hour and a half.
Ann Wilson's voice may have cracked once or twice, but damn if she doesn't have one of the best female voices in rock. She also found a moment to play flute on "Love Alive."
Nancy spent plenty of time jumping up and down and kicking out a leg in true rock style as she ripped through a cover of Led Zepplin's "Immigrant Song," and their own "Crazy On You."
Adding in a cover of The Who's "Reign O'er Me" that showcased the vocals once again, the band's encore included a cover of Zepplin's "Going to California" (with the name changed to Carolina) before a show-closing "Magic Man."
The Bad: If you saw Heart open up for Journey last year, you pretty much saw the show they played on this night. The good part is they sounded just as strong as they did a year ago.
The Verdict: It's always great to go to a show thinking you'll know three or four songs by a band and then know most of the setlist. Heart's catalog runs deep and is worth checking out.
Heart setlist
Barracuda
Never
Kick It Out
Straight on for You
Love Alive
Mistral Wind
Immigrant Song
Back to Avalon
These Dreams
What About Love
Alone
Reign O'er Me
Crazy On You
Encore
Going to California
Magic Man