The Godfather has been a Heart fan dating all the way back to the Dreamboat Annie album in 1976. Yes, they
were still making "record albums" back in the late 1970s. Through the years, Ann and Nancy Wilson have
worked on a variety of group and solo projects, which have included the Heart (1977-1995), the Lovemongers
(1997), and Nancy's recording on the Vanilla Sky soundtrack in 2001.
Ann and Nancy recently brought their "Summer of Love" tour to the Mandalay Bay
Beach, and although it was not a sell out, Las Vegas fans were out in full force. As usual,
the people watching was more interesting than the concert as an assortment of
interesting and unique individuals, powered by 110 degree heat and 20 ounce beers,
strolled along the beach. Tickets were $38.50 in advance, $42.50 the night of the event.
Heart played a combination of their hits, music from a "to be released" CD, and the
typical Led Zeppelin cover songs. The highlight of the night might have been opening
the show with "Crazy on You". Mixing in the new material gave the concert a roller
coaster effect as fans kept waiting for the Heart chart toppers.
The good news is that Ann's voice is as strong as ever. It also appears that Ann
dropped a few pounds. Having seen a dozen Heart concerts, the Godfather can say with
confidence that this was, by far, Ann's most energetic performance. She was quite
animated, moving back and forth across the stage, and obviously enjoying herself.
The new background musicians were good, and Nancy gave her typical spirited guitar
performance. Away from the stage, there was the usual assortment of activities. Drunken people falling down
in the sand, troublemakers escorted out by security, and enough beer to turn the pool yellow. Given that the
crowd was mostly 40-something, in the grand scheme of things, this concert was pretty tame. Good music on
a hot August night.
