I Heart Cary

September 17, 2009 | Story by: Community Contributor | Categories: Music

By Al Sibille

It was a perfect North Carolina summer night – full moon, low humidity, and no bugs. What better time to catch one of my favorite all time acts (Heart) at one of my favorite venues (Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary)?

I strolled in from the parking lot as the sun set. The audience was largely baby-boomers, and there were definitely some grandparents in the capacity crowd.

Nantucket, a southern rock band, opened and started right at 7 p.m. as Heart fans got settled in.  I wondered why a southern rock band would be called Nantucket instead of Nags Head or even Topsail.

Nantucket played a version of “Rocky Top” and AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top”. There were 7 members in the band, including a rockin’ harmonica who held a Steven Tyler-esque handkerchief in his hand.

In between bands, Koka Booth piped in some classic hits from Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, etc.  The crowd went crazy.

Heart started around 8:15 p.m. – a 6 person band – with Annie of course.  Some of the members looked like they were in their mid-twenties. Surely they never heard the original Heart play live themselves!

Annie Wilson of the original Seattle-based group, to my eyes anyway, hasn’t changed a bit.  They kicked the show off with the 1977 hit “Barracuda” and went on to play “Never”, “Kick It Out”, and “Straight On”.  They even slipped in cover of Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” and some acoustic songs.

The scene was mellow with most fans standing up front.  A turning point was when Annie belted out “What About Love” – everyone sang along.  In the end they quietly thanked thanked the crowd and went off stage.  We applauded politely as if to say “we know you are coming back out, so we’re not going scream and yell for an encore”.  Oddly enough they played a cover of Zeppelin’s “Battle of Evermore” for an encore.

Overall, a good show, a great night. Another great reason to live in Cary.

Matt Young and Hal Goodtree contributed to this article. Background picture of Koka Booth amphitheater by tsmyther.