Pat Benatar remains Invincible

In a summer full of big 80s bills, here's a concert that almost slipped in under the radar: Pat Benatar is playing Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall tonight.

She's got the perfect voice and set list for this size hall, but it's just nice to see her on a headlining tour again. That means we should get to hear every hit from our beloved decade -- and a few you've probably forgotten.

Give a re-listen to our VERY old podcast about her, and then check out this top 5 list. See you tonight at the show.

Comments

[Bassnote]

I like her version of John Mellencamp's "I Need A Lover".

[CHAD]

i guess you could call me a casual pat benatar fan. i distinctly remember her music vividly in the 80s. when i think back, she is one of the most iconic figures of the time. she along with certain images, the union jack def leppard shirts, mtv, fast times, etc, are instilled my brain forever. i have her most recent greatest hit cd, its brilliant. i have never seen her live, but i bet it would be a great show. plus her videos are burned into my brain as well.

[Miguel]

I only discoverd Pat Benatar recently(i think your podcast helped).Pat always makes me think of Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
From what i saw in her music videos that woman seems to be a force a nature.

[Rick]

I always thought she was cute and her music enjoyable. Her videos were top of the MTV crop, as goofy as they could be at times. Who can forget the weird rag-wearing hookers in "Love Is Battlefield" shaking their moneymakers in a pool hall and on the streets of LA?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9J9rTZJBmw
(With Nathan Arizona playing Pat's dad!)

But I have always wondered what she was thinking when she wrote "Hell Is for Children." If you listen to all of the lyrics, you get the gist that it's a rant against child abuse, but what a very strange title for a song about that!

[Rick]

As a New Wave/synth pop guy like Steve, "We Belong" has to be my favorite Pat Benatar song. Here's the vid of Pat in all her lip-glossed glory and day-glo gloves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuyYAL-nNY

[Rick]

Can you get anymore 80s than a Pat Benatar video with Judge Reinhold in it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME0U9nY0AH4&feature=related

[Gary]

Ok, if we're gonna post Pat videos here, then I have to say this one exemplifies her early 80's look the best. The tight stripe shirt, the cut jawline, the over the shoulder sneer, I give you "You Better Run"... Oh and she rocks on this one!!

[Gary]

Ok, duh, forgot the link....here go..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz1RiIp-9mU

[Neil]

I saw her in concert a couple of years ago and was really disappointed she didn't do "We Belong" especially since the venue was a really mellow type of venue. Thought that would be a slam dunk that she did that song.

[Eric Deggans]

I always liked Pat as more of a rocker babe than her slicker 80s pop hits. When I was learning to play drums, for instance, Hell Is For Children, Heartbreaker, Precious Time, You Better Run and Treat Me Right were all uptempo rockers that I loved playing and listening to. Back the, if you could believe it, my dream was either to paly in her acking band or in Toto...man, have times changed.

When she went all new wave with slickly produced stuff like We Belong and Shadows of the Night, she started to lose me...

[Eric Deggans]

the phrase was supposed to be "play in her backing band," by the way

[GlennS.]

Never a huge Pat Benetar fan but I will give her kudos for doing a cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" back in the day. I hope it prompted at least a handful of her fans to check out the original version and that maybe a few of them decided to further explore Ms. Bush's fine work.

However, I suspect most of Benetar's fans said "What the heck is that?" and fast forwarded to the next rocker.

[denvermatt]

Not coincidently, I was listen to "Invincible" on my run today. It is a great song.

[Marissa]

I had a pair of day-glow gloves thanks to Ms. Benetar. I had socks and a head band that matched.

I'm not a rabid fan, but I enjoy her music. Seeing her live would be awesome. Not sure I'd want everything to be acoustic. Does she have a backing band or is it just her and the hubby?

[Rick]

Hey Marissa, I also recall a cool pair of red Levis you'd made by bleaching them, then dying them red. Such a trend setter!

I also recall a lapel button... "DILLIGAF?" as I recall. ;-)

[Marissa]

Oh yeahhhhh, I did have those wacky jeans. They were more of a funky orange because red is difficult to self dye.

The DILLIGAF pin was nicely attached to my sharkskin trench coat. That reeeeally long scarf I wore with it is still hanging around.

[Sweet Lou]

Had to weigh in on Pat Benetar. She was one of my favorite artists, starting with her Crimes of Passion album in 1980. And I agree with GlennS that covering Wuthering Heights showed off her incredible voice.

Quick fun fact - we all know the answer to the trite question "What was the first video played on MTV". Didja know that the second video was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run"?

I did get to see Pat Benetar a few years back (was it 1997?), opening for Styx - and I got to admit we were very dissapointed - she had lost several of her multi-octave range; maybe just a bad night, and hopefully she's in better shape for this tour. If anyone catches her this time around, I'd love to hear a report.

[don in tulsa]

"all fired up" is one of my favorite under-rated songs by pat benatar.

[Frank K]

Pat is still unbelievable and truly one of a kind; a true vocal force to be noted and coveted. There will never, ever, be another Pat Benatar! Not much more to say. You rock, Pat!