Wild Heart Show 37 years later
 

June 28, 1983 was my first concert ever. Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks. I had just turned 13 and went with my parents lol.

What a wreck of a concert. Everyone remembers their first concert in a big way. I really enjoyed it but remember being unnerved by it. I remember my dad asking me if I enjoyed it after we were walking to the car. I did enjoy it but it was unnerving to witness someone so out of control. Clearly Stevie live was not the Stevie on video. I remember the press writing horrible reviews on the concert that it appeared Stevie's band was as confused as she was and did not know what song to play next. Stevie starts the concert and sounds horrible as if she just woke up. Then after GDW, she mumbles something like "nothing can make me feel better than I was feeling about 10 minutes ago." Did that mean she was ill, does it mean she got bad news. She carries on but exclaims a little bit later she has been through worse in her life and will get over this. However she never says what is bothering her. Then she starts acting strange on stage and keeps going to Benmont to whisper things in his ear. He picks up headphones and is listening to the concert as it continues. Stevie then stops the show claiming she cant hear anything. They rearrange the floor monitors and continues on. She is still singing as if she just woke up. Then she starts rearranging the floor monitors herself. Eventually she sings out of Waddy's microphone during songs. There are good moments of the show but for the most part she is high, drunk, and disorientated. She does get her usually playfulness in those days. Clearly not her best performance. I listened to the Philly show which was the night before and she is game on. She is pretty much flawless and always joking with the crowd. What could have turned the next night into such a disaster? Did her and Joe stay up all night and perform without sleeping? Did Kim call her out and demand a divorce (she announces she is divorcing the next month on E.T.). We may never know. But its pretty remarkable that 37 years later you can hear the show and all the missteps. Its hard to understand her rambles sometimes. I remember the radio commenting that she was not well and seemed dazed. The local radio station interviewed Joe before the concert and he was stone drunk at 5pm.
So that is my Wild Heart Story 37 years later. Not sure why but I always remember the date as if it was an anniversary or something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0RaEPU2G6M&t=199s

I saw the same tour in Indy.

I don't remember much(hey, it's 37 years ago, I was 3!!!:lol:), but I'm sure it wasn't as bad as the one you saw. I'd at least remember that it was horrible.

I'm sure she and Joe were horrible for each other. Two addicts feeding each other. It's amazing that they both survived.

Your talking about the Pittsburgh show? I was there. It was also my first Stevie concert. You are right on about that show. Very weird and bizzare. Not at her best for sure.

I saw in 86 in Pittsburgh for Rock a Little and even though she was still on drugs, it was a better performance.

LMAO that says ALOT. She was far more out of control during RAL but The Wild Heart tour was really when her career began to spin out of control especially with Joe Walsh touring with her. She got away with a lot more in 1983 because she was still beautiful and relied on sex appeal to carry her through. That was a gripe the Pittsburgh Press made about her.
I just remember being confused which is a really odd feeling to have after a concert. I had seen her 1981 solo concert on HBO and was in disbelief that 2 years later her concert was anything like the 1981 show. I have watched or listened to many Wild Heart Shows and IMHO Pittsburgh is by far the worst. You are correct, the opposite happened in 1986. Stevie was falling off stage and phoning in the shows yet her Pittsburgh stop was fairly decent and stable.
I just suspect staying up all night for the drive or flight from Philly the night before and some fight either with Kim or Joe before taking the stage. I was confused because her dad introduced her for this show. But Stevie said many years later that she stayed far away from him during this time because she was so crazy.
Sorry, I know some of these stories are old but I love Wild Heart tour stories from the pineapple throwing in Rhode Island and her babbling trying to explain Beauty and the Beast while high as a kite. "This is a story about a prince who gets turned into a beast because we don't know what he did"
Its so bad its good if you know what I mean. After all these years the show debuted on youtube. Amazing!

Somebody please track down a resurfaced recording of one the concerts in the last half or so - September, October, November.

I was lucky enough to see 3 shows on this tour and all of them were fantastic. Oddly there were several months between each show, so I had time to let each soak in before the next. Norfolk was at the start of the tour, Greensboro in the middle, and Charlotte was at the end. For the Charlotte show I was just a few rows back center. She was amazing at all of the shows! Just what a rock n' roll show should be about. Rocking band, great vocals, and very loose performance. Looking back, they were probably a little too loose and she was teetering on the edge. At the time I liked how she changed the lyrics up but didn't realize she had forgotten the words. After nearly 40 years and singing the same songs hundreds of times and she still can't get the lyrics right is kinda sad and pathetic, especially with teleprompters.
Joe Walsh was a great opener. He had been around longer and had more hits so he really should have been the headliner but she was hot as fire at that time. I can see why she fell in love with him. He is an amazing guitarist and extremely funny.
There was a whole post with stories and pics years ago where I shared some scans of ads and reviews of the shows that I saw. At the time I was probably one of her biggest fans and I'm sure my family was concerned at my devotion to her.
Someone posted what appears to be a newer interview for the behind the scenes of the Hold Me video. Wow she sounds horrible. Has her voice deteriorated that much or she talking low on the advice of her voice coach? She looks amazing but for a 70+ yo it pretty scary. She has always been detached from reality but she has taken it to a new heights. I still enjoy the old music and what it means to me, but the more recent Stevie really doesn't impress me at all. I want to say I get why some fans are such fanatics, but I'm glad I grew up and have more things to worry about besides some self indulgent "I'm a legend" singer who's voice is completely shot. Part of me thinks that she is singing in that nasal tone on purpose and no one can say anything to her because she only surrounds herself with yes people on the payroll. And yes I have felt this way for years before the recent events of the last couple of years. Sad really.

I have listened to the Norfolk show and it was incredible. I think she was still playing Enchanted too. Pretty much flawless performance. The Wild Heat Tour was similar to the RAL tour in that some nights were good some were bad and others were a disaster. It happened more frequently during RAL but it definitely happened during Wild Heart. I think she was aware how out of control she was during RAL and was living it up because she knew rehab was coming. In 1983 she was not aware how she was spiraling out of control. But both tours are problems and both were filmed professionally. RAL they overdubbed and did facial close ups patched over. In 1983 she was beautiful but you could tell she was so high so I imagine that is why her Largo show was never commercially released.

There's 2 pro shot videos for Wild Heart Tour. To me, the Largo show is just too dark, The lighting is just not right for a professional recording, but the performance is fine. The US Fest is much better and there are some high quality transfers of that full show. I always crack up when she runs across the stage and jumps over an amp (?). There are other times when she sends the security into full-on panic mode. I never witnessed anything like that at the shows that I went to. It was such a big show with a large crowd I think she got caught up in the moment and spent too much time in the tent backstage. :nod:

She really needs to retire now ..she is not singing that way on purpose.it is all that she has left yet she is deluded enough to believe that her vocals sound the same now as when she was in her twenties. She is so addicted to fame and rock stardom that she will not but with each passing year it becomes more and more of a macabre tragedy.

Most if not all acts were filmed for the US Festival. Not sure she would own that footage for personal release. I agree Largo was dark but it reflected her show. Her Wild Heart show was dark and I think the video accurately reflected that. I think I am in the minority but I think the Loraine bit was staged. I always believed she was a prop for the show. This was before Stevie had eye surgery and no way she could see a small kid sitting a few rows back to specifically go over and grab and take on stage and the wat the mother just propped up her child. I agree it looked fun and cool though. One of my favorite stage lines ever from Stevie is from the Largo show "They just play until I start"
LOL OMG for real. Wouldn't it be amazing to have secret private interviews with her band members then. You just cant play the music, you have to pay attention to when Stevie is going to sing.
Speaking of the US Festival. I believe it was late May 1983. I saw her just a month later in June 1983 and wow she looked so different. Her hair was so different and she acted so different too. Also speaking of the dark lighting there were times I thought she had a red streak in her hair because of the red light that was shining down on her.

There's also a film of the City of Hope concert at Compton Terrace (during a stretch of time when the Wild Heart tour performances were actually good). I keep hoping that the film will leak out. But I think my hopes have expired of old age.