Rock Hall Three For All Tour w/ Heart, Joan Jett & Cheap Trick – August 18th – Gexa Energy Pavillion – Dallas, TX
Three bands that entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame long after their eligibility period — showed why they belong there.
Cheap Trick
First up is one of my personal all-time favorite bands – In my opinion Cheap Trick is just impossible not to like, they are so fun & completely original and still in top form as they still tour like they are teenagers with hundreds of dates every year.
Thanks to that I have seen my fair share of their shows. Comparatively this was an abbreviated, festival type, greatest hits set, but it really set the pace for a long fun evening of some of the most enduring songs ever.
So fun and they seem on fire as ever, like not step slower than the last time. For a band at this stage in their career they still are really good about changing up parts of their setlist nightly. This being an abbreviated festival set made it a bit more predictable but no less fun.
Inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year FINALLY & deservedly but again this band still tours like teenagers and released a great new LP earlier this year as well, the awesomely titled Bang, Zoom, Crazy… Hello – Their first in seven years but the band took no real touring breaks in that time and their fierce performance proves it. Most fighters don’t get to enter the HOF as still the champion, Cheap Trick is the rare, wonderful exception.
Setlist –
Hello There
Big Eyes
California Man (The Move cover)
Lookout
The House Is Rockin’ (With Domestic Problems)
No Direction Home
Baby Loves to Rock
I’m Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground cover)
The Flame
I Want You to Want Me
Dream Police
Surrender
Goodnight
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Speaking of irresistability, who isn’t a fan of Joan Jett? Has their really been anyone cooler? Like ever? I’ve been a fan of her output with the Blackhearts since I first heard the double covers of The Shondells’ Crimson & Clover and of course the Arrows’ I Love Rock N Roll (which has been her signature song since) that magical summer of 1982 when they were inescapable. Thanks to that I learned about the Runaways and became a life-long fanatic of that band. Surprisingly for all of my devoted interest, I somehow only saw Jett perform once a couple of summers ago (also with Cheap Trick) at a throw-away city sponsored festival (that had deplorable sound) so I’m not sure I can even count that one.
So I was excited to get a second chance to see this living legend do it right.
Sound, production and song choice were so much is what like day & night compared to last time.
Jett who was LOOOONG overdue was finally inducted into the HOF last year & surprised everyone with bringing out a special guest, a fellow Rock N Roll Hall of Famer, Darryl DMC Mcdaniels!
Known for also being a rocker as a part of Run-DMC breaking down barriers with their 1986 collaboration with Aerosmith and going on to be a part of several more including this year’s Fragile Mortals, DMC took the stage completely unexpectedly (wearing a Motorhead shirt no less) and for someone like me who worships at the altar of RUN-DMC this was a huge surprise. No clue as to why he was in town, but so glad that he was.
Jett went on to play several other covers she’s known for like Gary Glitter’s Do You Wanna Touch and the one song I was hoping for most besides several Runaways tunes, was Bruce Springsteen’s Light of Day to which she spoke about the movie of the same name she starred in alongside Michael J. Fox that showed clips from the movie as they played.
Setlist –
Bad Reputation
Cherry Bomb (The Runaways)
Do You Wanna Touch (Gary Glitter cover)
TMI
You Drive Me Wild (The Runaways)
Light of Day (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Fragile
Love Is Pain
Fake Friends
Reality Mentality (w/ DMC)
I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll (The Arrows cover)
Crimson & Clover (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
I Hate Myself for Loving You
Everyday People (Sly & The Family Stone cover)
Fun Fact: The drummer in the band they form in the movie is Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails
Heart
While I have seen dozens of Cheap Trick shows & Joan Jett just once before, I was scratching Heart off my bucket list as a group I’ve never managed to see them live all these years until now.
As I was in the photo pit, anticipating their performance – I witnessed something interesting.
Not visible to the those in the audience but I could see their Stage Manager leading them via flashlight to the stage in grand dramatic fashion as each person that passed his light had a different ritual of engagement that you would imagine you’d only see in a Cameron Crowe film.
In fact, if you have seen the recent Crowe helmed series Roadies, I was explaining the realities to my friends & family with no touring experience that most of that fluff doesn’t really happen, it’s just Crowe’s romanticism.
Then I see this and think, wait…does it really happen and just didn’t happen on the tours I’ve been on?
Or maybe this a 1970’s thing….or maybe they are lampooning Roadies?
And then it occurred to me that….wait….guitarist Nancy Wilson is MARRIED to Cameron Crowe!
So I would love to know if that was genuine and his basis for the show or a total sendup.
Regardless the band took the stage and looked and sounded amazing.
Nancy Wilson, who was right in front of my position in the pit is still a mega-babe and at total badass, I mean look at that outfit!
Her sister Ann fort the most part was in fine form sans a few flat notes and others she couldn’t quite climb high enough to hit, but Ann, now close to 70 years of age was still a welcome sight & sound.
Like Joan Jett above, two of Heart’s biggest hits are covers from lesser known bands – Toronto’s What About Love and I-Ten’s Alone were both in the set as well as closing out the encore with two Led Zeppelin monsters Immigrant Song and the immortal Stairway To Heaven that the Wilson sisters would perform as part of their late 90’s project The LoveMongers.
Setlist –
Wild Child (Romeo’s Daughter cover)
Magic Man
What About Love (Toronto cover)
Bebe Le Strange
These Dreams
Two (Ne‐Yo cover)
Straight On
Kick It Out
Beautiful Broken
Alone (I-Ten cover)
Crazy on You
Barracuda
Encore:
Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover)
Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin cover)
An amazing full night of great music from the three certified Rock N Roll Hall of Fame groups.
Lots of covers I noticed as ambassadors of Rock N Roll carrying the message. Over 13 covers across the three acts.