Heart Rocks Ravinia Like its 1976

By Jake Zuckerman

Our world may have came a long way since then, but after an encore performance of six Led Zeppelin covers, Heart rocked Ravinia like it was 1976.

Following a stellar opening performance from The Led Zeppelin Experience, fronted by Jason Bonham (son of original Zeppelin drummer John Bonham), Heart took the stage for a crowd ready to hear some classic rock.

The band, fresh off their 2013 induction to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, made no haste delving into their biggest hits, starting the set with Barracuda and playing straight into Heartless.

Heart, fronted by the legendary Ann Wilson on lead vocals and her sister Nancy Wilson on rhythm guitar, barely took time to breathe in between songs in an attempt to cover their 36 years worth of music.

While it sounded like Ann Wilson had some cobwebs to shake off, the band played with a tight arena rock sound, until it all came together with a bone rattling performance of Magic Man. Ann Wilson showed off her staccato vocal style, jumping octaves between syllables, while lead guitarist Craig Bartock missed no opportunity to take a whammy-bar heavy guitar solo.

Although they may be more prominent as a rock act, Heart did show off their quieter acoustic side with a stripped down acoustic performance of the haunting folk tune Mistral Wind. Ann Wilson howled over her sister’s guitar backing, singing, “Well show me a way to the deepest mountains, too high and beautiful to be a mistral mistral wind.”

When a band with as much set-worthy material as Heart has, certain sacrifices inevitably come up in a setlist. Before picking up a guitar and playing Dog And Butterfly, Ann Wilson conceded, “we just have to choose the ones that mean the most to us.”

The band’s passion behind their set choices came through in their cover of Elton John’s I Need You To Turn To. The band played with sincerity enough to believe that their Elton John cover was more important to them at the time than any of their records from over the years. Nancy Wilson took over on vocals for the cover, and while she may not have the range of her singer, she made the crowd believe every word. She belted, “I need to turn to you when I lose control, you’re my guardian angel that keeps out the cold.”

The set was wrapped up with the band’s hit, revitalized by its appearance in Guitar Hero II, Crazy On You. After Nancy Wilson flaunted on her solo acoustic intro, the full band joined in for a spirited rendition of a timeless classic.

The band hit their highest point not during their main set, but in their encore. They were joined onstage by Bonham to play a miniset comprised exclusively of his father’s classic songs.  They took on musically ambitious and complexly arranged covers of The Battle Of Evermore, The Song Remains The Same, It Is The Springtime of My Lovin’, Immigrant Song, and Kashmir.

For their final performance, after being joined onstage by the Chicago Christian Choir, the stage was crammed by 23 people to cover the greatest rock song of all time: Stairway To Heaven. While typically a cover that goes up in flames, Heart played a version that would make Zeppelin proud, with Wilson providing an astonishing mix of her own stylings with those of Robert Plant, and Bartock paying homage to Jimmy Paige with a by-the-book cover of one of the most famous guitar solos ever written.

While Heart was by no means a disappointment, their covers’ stole the show. “Heart was amazing,” said Patty Russow of Lincoln Hills, “but Led Zeppelin was the best part.”

“Led Zeppelin made the concert,” said Alex Rosenberg, of Highland Park, in agreement.

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