Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY HELEN LAME’
Recently inducted Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer‘s Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo‘s return to the Bay Area at the San Jose Civic Saturday night was a continuation of a well deserved victory lap for a duo that’s been rocking for close to half a century.
Pat Benatar performs Saturday night at the San Jose Civic.
Breaking big just a couple years in advance of the MTV explosion of the early 80’s, Benatar, and Giraldo, her guitarist and future husband, etched out a place on classic rock playlists with a seemingly endless string of hits on their first album In the Heat of the Night, released in September 1979, almost four years before Madonna first came into public consciousness.
Often sporting a punky look with spiked hair and a leotard, Benatar had already released four hit albums by the end of 1982, quickly establishing her place on any list of Rock’s leading ladies. 45 years later, those early songs not only hold up but continue to dominate Benatar and Giraldo‘s setlist.
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo perform at the San Jose Civic Saturday night as part of the duo’s Funtastic ’24 tour.
Opening with “All Fired Up,” a a Rattling Sabres cover from 1988’s Wide Awake in Dreamland and “We Live for Love” from her debut album, Benatar, 71, wasted little time demonstrating how strong her voice continues to be, with the near sellout crowd at the cavernous but airy auditorium often singing along to memorized lyrics delivered through the auditorium’s crisp acoustic system.
More hard rocking hits would quickly follow, with tunes like “Promises in the Dark,” We Belong” and “Invincible’” further documenting that time has done nothing to diminish Benatar’s ability to hit the high notes. The show would continue with 1982’s “Shadows of the Night” from Get Nervous, “Hell is for Children,” an unshakable cover of The Rascals “You Better Run” that Benatar further popularized on 1980’s sophomore effort Crimes of Passion, and the set closing “Love is a Battlefield.”
Pat Benatar performs Saturday night at the San Jose Civic.
Returning for a three song encore opening with “Everybody Lay Down,” the inclusion of the cover “War” by Edwin Starr and and a few verses of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” interspersed into the performance concluding “Heartbreaker” added nicely to the set. There were a few curious inclusions in the setlist given the omission of other more recognizable cuts that could’ve been played in the modest 90 minute, 16 song appearance, but the performance was solid and no one could question the artists creative license.
The duo is in an enviable position, basically not just owning the name and being the band that people are paying to see, giving them full control of their product, but drummer Chris Ralles steadfast contribution to the festivities can not go unmentioned.
Benatar and Giraldo’s Funtastic ’24 tour continues with a show at the Gallo Center in Modesto Sunday evening before wrapping up in the Pacific Northwest with three final shows prior to concluding on Friday.
