Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Appearing at the Great American Music Hall less than a week after the release of her new solo album, Ann Wilson wasted little time restating her place in rock royalty, and certainly one of the greatest female vocalists of any generation.
Ann Wilson performs Wednesday night at the Great American Music Hall in support her newly released solo album “Fierce Bliss.”
It was an undeniable treat for any of those among the crowd of less than 500 in attendance to view the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer who’s filled countless arenas and stadiums with her younger sister Nancy fronting Heart in such an intimate setting with a reputation for stellar acoustics.
Backed by The Amazing Dawgs, featuring lead guitarist Tom Bukovac, Tony Lucido on bass, Paul Moak on guitar and keys and Sean T Lane on drums, Wilson delivered a dynamic blend of Heart, classic rock covers and original solo material during her 17 song set.
Touring in support of Fierce Bliss, her third solo album which itself is a selection of seven original compositions and four covers, it’s actually the first of the three collections that features any of her own solo material, and the magnitude of her creative burst is unmistakable following a stretch where Wilson seemed intent on strictly putting her spin on The Great Classic Rock Songbook.
Wilson, 71, still has a powerful voice, seemingly having lost nothing since Heart’s 1975 debut Dreamboat Annie featuring “Magic Man” and “Crazy on You” propelled the sisters from the club scene in Seattle to worldwide success while still in their early twenties.
Inducted into the Rock Hall in 2013, a strained relationship a few years later sidelined the Wilson sisters from performing as Heart temporarily before the the band was reunited in 2019 for an American tour. If there was any upside to the split, it certainly presented itself to their fans in the form of increased solo production by both Ann and Nancy at a point where the band’s recent creativity had waned, both in quality and productivity.
Taking the stage promptly at 8 PM sharp as advertised, Wilson appeared in a sequined black dress resting just above her knees with a matching jacket. Her backing band was solid throughout, both in the cohesiveness of their support and their ability to improvise occasionally with some creative intros. Opening with “Even It Up” from 1980’s Bebe le Strange, she didn’t waste any time letting any one in the crowd unfamiliar with the type of sets she favors rest easy that they were in for a night of hits as opposed to misses.
Following up with “Black Wing,” the first of five tracks presented from Fierce Bliss, Wilson, also an accomplished flutist, quickly dipped back into the Heart catalog to perform “Love Alive” before giving her all to John Lennon’s “Isolation.” Dipping back into the way back machine for 1977’s “Magic Man” from Dreamboat Annie, she next performed Robin Trower’s “Bridge of Sighs” and Bliss lead single “Greed” prior to presenting “Forget Her” as a tribute to the prematurely deceased Jeff Buckley. Long an aficionado of The Who, as well as Led Zeppelin among others, Wilson closed the first set before intermission with a powerful version of “Love, Reign O’er Me” from Quadrophenia.
Returning just as strong after the break, Wilson resumed her dream setlist by going back to the beginning of it all with the hard rocking “Crazy on You.” Covers of the Freddie Mercury and Queen ballad “Love of My Life” (duetted with Vince Gill on the new album), and Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” a recent addition to her repertoire, would follow. The unmistakable opening strains of “Barracuda” brought nearly everyone in the small venue to their feet, where they would stay the remainder of the show despite the band’s brief departure for a short encore break.
Dog & Butterfly’s “Straight On” set the stage for for the inevitable closing Zeppelin appreciation portion of the show, and Wilson, as always, didn’t disappoint, sending everyone home beyond happy, first with a lovely mandolin infusion version of “Going to California” and finally with a raucous rendition of Messrs. Plant and Page’s “Black Dog.”
While some might bemoan the lack of Heart concerts in recent years due to either sibling riffs or Covid, it would be a mistake for anyone to diminish the catalogs of either sister as an individual. It’s a safe bet that Heart will be back on the road at some point soon, and hopefully also back in the studio, but Nancy’s 2021 solo album You and Me is also solid and both women certainly know how to put on a great concert whether together or separately. In the immortal words of Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin, “Sisters are doin’ it for themselves,” and any fan of music should be grateful for that.
The Fierce Bliss tour continues at the Uptown Theatre in Napa on Thursday before heading down to Los Angeles for a pair of shows at the El Rey next week.
