Cheap Trick, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts & Heart: Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA- 7/24/16
Cheap Trick started out the show as the opening act. My husband and I arrived halfway through their set, just in time to catch fan favorite hits like ‘The Flame’, ‘I Want You To Want Me’, ‘Dream Police’, and ‘Surrender’. The songs were sung with plenty of energy and enthusiasm, but unfortunately the vocal mixing was done poorly which made it way too loud and unbearable to listen to. After a while, my ears adjusted a little bit and I tried to enjoy the rest of their set the best I could.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts hit the stage promptly at 8pm. The vocal mixing issue must have been rectified in between sets, because this set was much easier on my ears! At 57-years-old, Joan Jett has still got it, what a bad ass chick! She came out in a bright red shiny jumpsuit, and her raspy voice rocked us all from the first note. She started out her set with ‘Bad Reputation’ and the audience loved it! She was great at amping up the crowd and encouraged us all to “sing along, even if you don’t know the words.” Later, she indulged us with a song she wrote with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, called ‘Any Weather’ and wrapped up her set with her biggest hits ‘I Love Rock n’ Roll’, ‘Crimson & Clover’ and ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You’. I was surprised that she didn’t close out her show with ‘ I Love Rock n’ Roll’, to me that seemed like the natural choice, but it didn’t alter my opinion of what I already thought was a stellar performance. All star show, I would go see Joan Jett again in a heartbeat, amazing!
Finally, the part of the show we had all been waiting for, Heart! Hearing the women of Heart sing, always gives me the chills. Ann Wilson’s voice could make a grown woman cry! Amazing!! Nancy is supremely talented, but Ann’s voice blows me away every single time. The Wilson sisters opened up the show with ‘Wild Child’ and the crowd went well, wild! Next were classic hits ‘Magic Man’ and ‘What About Love’. The latter being one of my all-time favorite Heart tunes, I was very excited to hear it live. However, although sung beautifully, I was waiting for Ann to let loose and rock out during that song and it didn’t happen. It was a more mellow version than I’d heard in the past or on their album, so I was a tad disappointed about that. (The same thing happened when my all-time favorite Heart song ‘Alone’ was performed a little later.) I like songs performed in the traditional way, the way they are on the album. Finally Heart came through pulling out all the stops on ‘Crazy On You’ the exact way we all know and love it, and she did the same on ‘Barracuda’.
The band left the stage after ‘Barracuda’ but came back shortly after for an amazing encore of two Led Zeppelin songs, ‘Immigrant Song’ and of course ‘Stairway To Heaven’. They rocked the hell out of both tunes and blew the audience away. Ann, Nancy and the rest of the band left the stage while the audience screamed for more. The lights came on and fans started to leave their seats while still yelling, howling and cheering for more!
This was my 3rd time seeing Heart, and they are amazing every single time. Heart, as well as Cheap Trick and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts are ‘the real deal’…no autotune, no backing vocals, just raw vocal talent, what a treat! I’m continuously blown away with the vocals of Ann Wilson and I hope I get to see them at least a few more times before they decide to stop touring.
Fun fact: Heart was the first show my husband and I saw together back in 2008, so getting to see them again last night was extra special because it had sentimental meaning.
Hi Loen, I love to read your articles. …actually I just started today. LOL
My comment isn’t actually about this article; which I loved by the way.
It’s about the meaning of Dimes and constantly finding them. Actually I should say, it’s about constantly finding dimes and seeking the meaning behind it all. A few years ago, I started finding dimes in various places; since last year, I think I have found about 26.( I started to save them when I realized this had to be more than just a coincidence). Every time I would find one I would tell a buddy of mine Brandon and sometimes I would take a picture of wherever it was, laying indoors or outdoors, just to prove to him I wasn’t making it up. Most Fridays we meet for lunch; up until recently with this Corona thing going on. A while back during lunch at a restaurant, we were following the hostess, I spotted a on the carpet that Brandon had walked right past, beside the front of the table our Hostess was seating us at. When she left I told Brandon to look down on the floor and I picked up the dime as he looked in semi-amazement. He realized it could not have just been a coincidence after all the pictures I had sent him of Dimes I had found. To make a long story short a few days ago he sent me your article after I had sent him another photo of a dime I had found near the edge of a sidewalk. I have been thinking that God has something to do with it. It is a message coming from somewhere after all ! I am even more convinced after reading your article. I guess I just want to actually say thank you because now I know I’m not the only one. I’m from North Carolina. Have a lot of cousins in Massachusetts. My father was from Brant Rock my mother from Spain. I ended up here because my father was a Marine.