FARGO — If Heart’s Ann Wilson wants to go crazy on you, just let her. You won’t be sorry.
The singer, her sister, guitarist Nancy and the latest lineup of their classic rock group went deep into the band’s catalog in a Wednesday night show at Fargo’s Scheels Arena.
The results got the blood pumping.
The group has been around for 51 years and despite health issues — including a bout of cancer, rounds of chemotherapy and a broken elbow that slowed down her mobility — Ann sounded as good as ever.
The band did not allow press photography, but shared images from a tour photographer.
Ann Wilson of Heart performs Wednesday, March 11, at Scheels Arena, Fargo.
Contributed / Criss Cain
The singer has always had a powerful voice and great control, both of which were on display during the 100-minute set. By the second song of the night, the 1985 hit “Never,” she was showing the flexibility to sing the pop verses and belt out the anthemic chorus.
Those who saw the band the last time they played the metro area, in 2002 at the Red River Valley Fair, may say she hasn’t lost a step vocally. Don’t worry if you don’t remember it though. Neither did Ann.
“I think this is the first time we’ve been here,” she said a few songs in.
“Are you sure,” Nancy asked. “They have electricity here. If they have electricity, we’ve played there.”
Heart actually first played Fargo at the Civic Center in 1977 on the group’s “Little Queen” tour.
That song and many early ones made the setlist Wednesday night as eight of their originals were from 1975 through 1980. The band had its biggest radio success during its second act from 1985 to 1990 playing pop music, but only four of their seven hits from that period were performed.
Fans of those mid-to-late 1980s power ballads may have felt shorted, but Nancy told The Forum recently that they’re preferring to play more of the songs they wrote. That meant leaving out one of its highest charting songs, “All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You,” a tune Ann has since called “hideous.”
If anyone was missing those numbers, you didn’t hear it from the crowd. While some earlier tunes failed to become radio hits (“Little Queen,” “Dog & Butterfly” and “Mistral Wind”) they got a nice response.
Ann Wilson of Heart plays flute on “Love Alive” on Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena.
Contributed / Criss Cain
But nothing like “Crazy on You.” From Nancy’s classical acoustic intro, the crowd was on its feet, making you wonder why they didn’t open with it. Nancy’s fast strumming with Ann transitioning from seductive whispers to growls and howls sounded just as urgent as it did 51 years ago.
Even when Ann wasn’t the main vocalist, she stole the spotlight. As Nancy sang the synthesizer hit “These Dreams,” Ann sang harmony like a shadow that grew larger than the original.
Nancy dedicated that tune to everyone and their big hair that survived the ’80s.
She was more earnest when she played “4Edward,” her acoustic memorial to her late friend, Eddie Van Halen. The homage included a riff on the iconic Van Halen hit, “Jump” that drew cheers from the crowd.
Heart on stage Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena.
Contributed / Criss Cain
There were a number of tributes to influential classic rock bands. The Wilson sisters have long been open about their love of Led Zeppelin and worked “The Rain Song” and “The Ocean” into the show.
Even before those covers, however, the sisters showed how much Led Zeppelin rubbed off on them as songwriters. Heart opened with 1980s “Bebe Le Strange” with a Jimmy Page inspired guitar riff. A few songs later Ann brought out a flute to play the folk infused “Love Alive,” mixing acoustic folk and rock, a page out of the Led Zeppelin playbook.
Heart even threw in a cover of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” for good measure.
Even with the synthesizer hits of the ’80s, Heart is a guitar band and the three guitarists besides Nancy — Ryan Walters, Ryan Wariner and Paul Moak — all stepped up to take solos on “Magic Man.”
Heart drummer Sean T. Lane looks out as Ann Wilson sings to a packed house Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena.
Contributed / Criss Cain
Even bassist Tony Lucido got a little solo playing the intro to “Straight On,” a song that mixes a great strutting rhythm with Ann’s sassy singing before blending into a cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”
That wasn’t the only mash-up of the night. The group made two of its biggest power ballads, “What About Love” and “Alone” into a two-for-one that just didn’t match the sum of its parts.
That was to be the end of the regular set, but as Nancy was preparing to leave the stage, Ann demanded they do her version of the encore where they stay and just keep playing.
They played “The Rain Song” and then Walters and Wariner took guitar solos. Nancy then stepped into the spotlight, but instead of some unnecessary noodling, she started shredding the intro to the group’s signature song, “Barracuda,” kicking her feet out and banging her head.
The song was written as a response to sexist men in the record industry the Wilsons encountered starting out, but Wednesday night it sounded like Ann was singing directly at them onstage. Nearly 100 minutes into the night, she sounded just as fine and ferocious, as if she saved all the aggression she kept inside for her entire 75 years.
She wasn’t the only angry female singer who wasn’t letting recent ailments get in the way of rocking out.
Lucinda Williams sings Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena.
Contributed / Criss Cain
Americana singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams opened the show pulling mostly from her 1998 classic album “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.” But global chaos was a lyrical focus.
She showcased the title track of her new album, “World’s Gone Wrong” and stated she wished she’d written Bob Marley’s “So Much Trouble in the World” before playing it. She even dedicated Memphis Minnie’s defiant “You Can’t Rule Me” to President Donald Trump. The tune was punctuated by a blistering solo from former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford.
Driving it all home, she closed her hour-long set with Neil Young’s protest song “Rockin’ in the Free World,” complete with a sing-along.
Williams suffered a stroke in 2020 and still can’t play guitar. She walked to her mic stand where she stood for her whole set.
She was never a dynamic performer, but her voice maintained its warm warble, singing her ode to Blaze Foley, “Drunken Angel” and the joyous “Righteously.” Similarly, she still packs a snarl on the blues stomp of “Joy.”
“Don’t give up the fight,” she said at the end of her set. “People have the power, don’t forget.”