Playing with heart

CLEARWATER -- Classic rock band Heart proved that it's more than a nostalgia act at Wednesday's sold-out Ruth Eckerd Hall performance. Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson are two of rock music's pioneer female artists; really, how many chicks strapped on an electric Gibson SG and played rock, real rock, before Nancy did in the early 1970s?

The duo and their band dazzled 2,200 fans with a distinctly '70s aesthetic -- visually, that is. Ann, 52, and Nancy, 48, both dressed in hip-hugging jeans with groovy applique, set the stage with a dozen candles, red lava lamps and burning incense. Yet the sisters rocked as vigorously as any of today's acts.

With a career spanning more than 30 years, Heart had little trouble treating the audience to hits. The show, which lasted more than an hour and a half, kicked off with the thunderous Crazy On You, with Ann belting out her trademark wails and, toward the end there, yelps so lovelorn, so bluesy, they kicked you square in the gut.

How to top that? The sisters sweetly harmonized on the old gem Straight On. Nancy took over lead vocals on the 1980s smash These Dreams, which garnered a standing ovation from those in the crowd favoring Heart's pop reign during that era. The older folks freaked out to Mistral Wind from the classic Dog & Butterfly album.

The rest of the band disappeared and Ann and Nancy performed a sort of unplugged mini-set beginning with a gorgeously stripped-down Alone. That song, certainly among Heart's cheesiest from the 1980s, was given dignity by Ann's powerful vocal, turning the most pedestrian lines -- "I never really cared until I met you" -- into something real.

Ann strapped on a guitar for Dog & Butterfly and later Nancy played a crisp 12-string on Elton John's Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters. The choice of instruments grew more gutsy: a mandolin, or something like it, an autoharp. The sisters must be praised for their fearlessness. And their undying loyalty to Led Zeppelin. What Heart show is complete without a Zep cover? (Wednesday's crowd got two.)

The band was wise to shun the most egregious of the 1980s swill, relying instead on surefire 1970s classics and fan favorites. The crowd roared for Magic Man and the rollicking Barracuda, which, by the way, should be the soundtrack for the next of those car commercials celebrating a generation's edgy vibe. After several encores, Heart ended the night with the gentle gem Dreamboat Annie.

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