Where were you the first time you heard the now legendary rock song Heartbreaker? Some of you may have been too young to remember and some of you may not have been born yet but I was 14 years old and I was at my aunt’s house. When I heard the hard rockin beat of that song I was pumped and then came that voice… it was new, extremely powerful and FEMALE!! Pat Benatar became an icon for the women of my generation immediately and I have been hooked every since. I had the pleasure of meeting her a short time ago and she did not disappoint.
Pat Benatar and her husband Neil Giraldo performed at the Fox Theater in Salinas, CA over the summer to a pretty full house and it ROCKED! While I was watching soundcheck I kept thinking, “Wow… look at her! She’s 55 years old and looks FANTASTIC! She was wearing jeans and flip flops and for a petite woman she has such a powerhouse voice.” She had already blown my mind and the show hadn’t even started yet! I kept thinking to myself that this woman studied opera and was accepted to Juliard. Thank GOD 
her love and passion for rock took over. This is the woman that showed so many of us that CHICKS CAN ROCK and rock HARD and now… almost 30 years after her debut album In The Heat of The Night she is STILL rocking hard.
The show opened with All Fired Up which has become one of my favorites. Naturally many of her signature hits were performed like Shadows of the Night, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Hell Is For Children, We Live For Love, Promises In The Dark, Love Is A Battlefield, We Belong, etc. Her stage presence is phenomenal and the chemistry between her and her husband of 26 years is amazing. Most couples that have been married that long barely speak to one another but these two perform so beautifully together. Neil (Spyder) told us a story of how they met back in the day and how they hit it off right away professionally. She had some ideas and he had a plan so they went to LA and 19 days later they had finished ‘In The Heat of The Night’… the debut album that would become a staple in rock history. Though all of this took place back in 1979 and they weren’t a couple yet their chemistry has always been strong and productive and that still holds true today. They had a blast together on that stage and they really fed off the energy of the crowd. Neil Giraldo is one HELL of a 
guitarist and watching Pat smile while she was watching him play was so COOL! Salinas was ‘All Fired Up’ and rocking hard with the legendary rock icon. Naturally they closed the show with a blistering rendition of Heartbreaker which drove the crowd WILD!!
For me, this was an AMAZING show. I felt like I was 14 all over again. Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo KICKED MY ASS with an AWESOME performance and I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a soul in the Fox Theater that didn’t feel the same way. When the show was over both Pat and Neil said that they too had a blast. The energy of the crowd made them feel like they did when they played back in the day and they LOVED it! When I was growing up we didn’t have many women in rock to aspire to but when she came busting through the scene that all changed. There are so many women in music today that owe Pat Benatar for helping to pave their way. She may be small but her heart, her soul, her passion and her voice is LARGE! She is a wife, a mother, a songwriter and so much more and she’s been rocking our ASSES for 30 years and the best part… she’s not done. This is one woman who can do it ALL and does it WELL!! Thank you Pat Benatar for all that you are and all that you’ve given us… the music, the inspiration and joy… and thank you to David Drew Productions for bringing Pat and Neil to the Central Coast. This was truly an AWESOME experience.
For more information on tour dates check out Pat and Neil’s myspace page.
