By Lisa Burke
August 23rd 2016, The Forum, Inglewood CA: The early seventies brought about some wonderful new flavors of rock n’ roll that we now refer to as classic rock with memorable and significant bands of the female and male fronted variety. Over forty years later, these bands are still alive, kicking and busting ass on and off the stage to keep the rock n’ roll legend fresh in this modern age. On Tuesday August 23rd 2016, the Forum presented the ‘Rock Hall Three For All’ tour of three early seventies era bands with headliners Heart featuring support from Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and Cheap Trick.
This night started early with Cheap Trick taking the stage at 6:30 and crawling through the beginning of the set with the slower tracks until midway when Tom Petersson busted out the “too many strings” bass solo that despite its proper execution was far from the thrill of the evening with its slow pace. Prior to the bass solo, ‘On Top Of The World’ served as a highlight and after midway through the set the audience was treated with all their favorites such as ‘The Flame’, ‘Dream Police’, ‘I Want You To Want Me’ and ‘Surrender’, and ended with the song ‘Goodnight’ featuring Rick Nielsen on the “too many necks” guitar for showmanship. The oddball out of the night was the Lou Reed cover of ‘I’m Waiting For The Man’ which was the bassist sang of the set, and they also threw in a snippet from ‘Heroin’. As much as everyone loves a good Lou Reed cover I’m not so sure I bought it from Cheap Trick, only because Cheap Trick and Lou Reed styles don’t mesh super well together, so you get what sounds like a mediocre Cheap Trick song as a result because that magic that Lou Reed brings in disappears. Robin Zander in his fun outfits including a long sequined coat as a vocalist sounded up to perfection throughout and the band was solid in their execution. Having recently seen Robin Zander perform songs such as ‘The Flame’ at a benefit show with some other great guest guitarists, I somehow got more of a thrill out of hearing that song in particular played by unoriginal members. Overall, Cheap Trick still put on a worthy set and Zander always steals the show with his unique empowering vocals and stage presence.
Cheap Trick set list:
01. Hello There
02. Big Eyes
03. California Man
04. Blood Red Lips
05. Voices
06. On Top of the World
07. No Direction Home
08. Bass Solo
09. I’m Waiting for the Man
10. The Flame
11. I Want You to Want Me
12. Dream Police
13. Surrender
14. Goodnight
It would have perhaps served this early start of an evening better had Cheap Trick gone on second, because many empty spaces filled the arena once Joan Jett And The Blackhearts came on stage. I know how wild this may sound but this was my first experience seeing Joan Jett live and while a fan of her for many years, I realized a few major points when watching her in 2016. She does still have that quirky, manly, tough yet cute rock n’ roll vibe, yet she almost seemed bored on stage. The audience can only have as much fun as the band is having on stage, so attitude is everything. It just seemed she was more going through the motions than trying to win over the audience, which put a dampener on the set. The other fact of the matter, is her songs are so simple at times with almost fifth grade level lyrics when you break it down to 2016 and try to find its modern meaning. Yes, at the time of her heyday she was everything she needed to be and gave women a backbone and a voice in rock n’ roll. I personally got nothing from hearing “I Love Rock N’ Roll” as there wasn’t much energy involved, yet her newer songs, whether audience favorites or not, seemed to push to the top energy-wise and were among the most enjoyable. The video backdrop for all sets was fun and appropriate and I am a fan of using modern technology for older bands to bring them up to speed and enhance those originals. There was a song she played called ‘Light Of Day’ written by Bruce Springsteen and featured in a movie featuring Michael J. Fox, and that was a highlight, as was her cover of ‘Cherry Bomb’ by The Runaways, and of course the all-time favorite female badass anthem of ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You’ towards the finale, which as a side note, also makes a great ring tone for when your ex calls. She again was sporting the sequin outfit and the Blackhearts were pulling their weight for sure with the quality riffs and beats.
Joan Jett And The Blackhearts set list:
01. Bad Reputation
02. Cherry Bomb
03. Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)
04. TMI
05. You Drive Me Wild
06. Light of Day
07. Soulmates to Strangers
08. Love Is Pain
09. Fake Friends
10. Any Weather
11. I Love Rock N’ Roll
12. Crimson & Clover
13. I Hate Myself for Loving You
Encore:
14. Everyday People
Finally it was the moment of awe when Heart took the stage with Ann and Nancy Wilson spreading their rock n’ roll vibe all over the Forum in the most beautiful way. Ann’s vocals were absolutely spot on amazing and at times she wailed in more perfect range than Rob Halford himself. The vibe between the two sisters was phenomenal to witness, as the harmonies were on key. Nancy on guitar was note-for-note perfection and what is really great about seeing them today is how they have chosen to adapt to the modern world when appropriate, yet still keep that old-time era when nostalgia takes precedence. The favorite of the night was eighties song ‘These Dreams’ which Nancy took lead for, and the eighties keyboard sounds helped transform the arena into the past, despite the fun video screen backdrop enhancements. Other highlights were ‘Magic Man’, ‘Crazy On You’, and ‘Beautiful Broken’ with the vocals knocking balls out of the park while the rest of the crew kept with the flow and then some. Heart has a new album that modernizes old songs as it reworks them with the addition of other instruments, primarily performed live on keys in a way that enhances these songs with a new flow. The old songs are usually more guitar-driven and the fans love those tunes as well. I found it very interesting when they played ‘Two’ off of their new album which for them is an entirely new song despite being a Ne-Yo cover and half the audience decided it was time for a bathroom break or a cocktail. The song ‘Two’ again was sung by Nancy and it is a ballad with not much in the way of guitar, yet I find it to be absolutely beautiful and totally the Heart quality you expect and despite the cheesy ballerina video to go with it, they pulled it off with grace, and then I found ‘Barracuda’ to be the most boring because of course it was most expected. I mean, really other than being extremely catchy and full of pitch perfection, it’s not their greatest work of art. I feel that is the problem here that fans go to see that one favorite song and don’t bother to listen to what else they have to offer or respect it on another level for what it is. I believe everyone who goes to see their favorite artist with many, many albums from a few decades under their belt should try, try to understand what the unfamiliar or the new is about, because Heart as well as many others in this predicament can do no wrong. If that wasn’t the greatest show and set list ever from Heart, they also pulled out an all Led Zeppelin cover encore and if you’ve never heard Ann sing Led Zeppelin, it’s time you start. They destroyed in the best way possible ‘Immigrant Song’, as well as played a Heart-style beautiful rendition of ‘Stairway To Heaven’.
All three of these acts are pushing up there in age, and while they show no signs of slowing down, you can never be sure how much longer you will have this opportunity to see them. I recommend getting out there while you can and enjoy your favorite songs live from decades of albums from three classic bands in one setting.
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Heart set list:
01. Wild Child
02. Magic Man
03. What About Love
04. Even It Up
05. These Dreams
06. Two
07. Straight On
08. Kick It Out
09. Beautiful Broken
10. Alone
11. Crazy on You
12. Barracuda
Encore:
13. Immigrant Song
14. Stairway to Heaven
Heart remaining US tour dates w/ Joan Jett And The Blackhearts & Cheap Trick:
HEART w/ Joan Jett And The Blackhearts & Cheap Trick
09/08/2016 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
09/10/2016 — Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
09/11/2016 — Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
09/13/2016 — Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
09/14/2016 — Raleigh, NC @ Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
09/16/2016 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
09/19/2016 — Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
09/20/2016 — Pelham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
09/22/2016 — Tampa, FL @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre *
09/23/2016 — West Palm Beach, FL @ Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre
* = No Cheap Trick