Pat Benatar Live in NH

Finishing up with the series of concert videos here.  Pat Benatar was actually the second act to go on for the concert with Loverboy and Journey.  There was quite a long intermission to change the stage set after Loverboy and before Pat Benatar, yet oddly enough, she did not have an elaborate stage set at all.  Nope -- just Pat and her husband Neil Giraldo (on guitar) as the main focus.  When she came out on stage, it was quite thrilling.  Such a tiny lady with a huge voice -- and so much mystique and rock and roll power!  I remember seeing an interview with her, and the interviewer asked, "So how can we be as cool as you?"  She said, "it's all in the pointing," and proceeded to demonstrate her famous awesomely cool pointing technique.  I believe she said that it "makes you look tough."  Works for me!  I'm going to practice that now.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these videos.  I am so glad I saw her -- finally!

Journey Live in NH

Well, somehow time has escaped me again, and I am ashamed that it has been a month since I went to see Journey, Loverboy, and Pat Benatar in Manchester, NH.  I took several short videos with my Blackberry but had trouble uploading them directly from my computer -- so I added them to my YouTube channel.  I know they aren't the clearest or the best quality, but I think they certainly capture the excitement and general essence of the concert.  I can't tell you how blown away I was when Journey took the stage.  They basically exploded onto the stage with "Anyway You Want It."  I honestly felt like I was going to pop out of my seat - which I did!  I stood for their whole set, just mesmerized in a Journey trance.  The new lead singer is so full of energy, and the veteran band members are nothing short of amazing.  I hope you enjoy the videos!

Loverboy Live!

So -- it has again been much too long since my last post.  I apologize and have something special to post now!  Last night, I went to hear Journey, Pat Benatar, and Loverboy.  I have about 8 videos total, so here is the one of Loverboy's "Turn Me Loose."  I thought I had recorded "Working for the Weekend," but it didn't record.  Oh well.  It was really my first try at recording anything in length with the Blackberry.  It was a GREAT show.  Go see them if you can!

Blondie, Madonna, and Gaga

This weekend I spent quite a bit of time watching Blondie videos and listening to interviews with Debbie Harry.  I have to say that I was pretty shocked by the number of interviewers and reporters who compared her to Lady Gaga -- and actually had the guts to mention that to her.  No offense to anyone, but come on.  Blondie and Lady Gaga?  I am SURE that Debbie Harry must have had some influence on Lady Gaga, but is it really fair to compare them?  I often read about comparisons between Madonna and Lady Gaga -- and that seems more logical to me.  I'm still pondering the Blondie/Gaga connection.  Okay, both Debby Harry and Gaga were NYC natives, right?  They both started out sort of "underground" on the dance circuit, right?  Uh, wrong.  Blondie as a group seemed to be very anti-establishment and counter-culture, although punk was a "counter culture culture" in and of itself.  I actually found some videos of Debbie Harry when she was in her twenties, and she was singing '60s folk kind of stuff.  This made me think of Pat Benatar, who went through all kinds of genres with her band, and so did Debbie Harry.  So, it's fair enough to compare Debbie Harry and Pat Benatar, I think. 

Meanwhile, I guess there's more of a connection between Madonna and Gaga.  Madonna started as a dancer and was pretty broke when she moved from Michigan to NYC.  Her early hits were very "dancy," and so were Gaga's.  Remember "Holiday?"  How about "Just Dance?"  Okay, so the former was Madonna and the latter Gaga.  I think Madonna really paved the way for Gaga.  Madonna seemed really intrigued by commercialism and marketing, and I think Gaga does as well.  I don't think Debbie Harry cared one iota.  Both Madonna and Gaga like the "shock factor," too.  When Gaga first came out, I was pretty engaged by the quality of her music and her musicianship.  She seemed so incredibly talented for such a young woman.  I think it's getting a bit creepy now, and I may have lost touch with her message and direction.  Meanwhile, Madonna was always pretty straightforward.  She liked to shock people.  She loved to throw religious images into the mix just to cause a ruckus.  She also really liked to push her sexuality in everyone's face for shock value.  Hey, no problem.  At least it wasn't creepy.  Seems pretty mild in retrospect.  So, I thought it would be fun and nostalgic to share one of he big shockers, "Justify My Love."  It was written by Lenny Kravitz and basically features an awesomely provocative and "dirty" drum track underscoring Madonna whispering about sexual stuff.  It was extremely controversial back in the day (1990, just at the dawn of the new decade).  It has sort of R-rated images.  Yeah -- but the video is very artsy.  Not really creepy at all.  Just very Madonna.  I think Gaga's last equivalent was "Bad Romance," so I threw that in, too.  I absolutely love the hairless cat -- and the message of the tune.  So, enjoy these two -- I think they are light years closer than Gaga and Blondie (in fact, that comparison is a non-issue in my mind).

We Belong

I was listening to Pandora radio this evening, and "We Belong" by Pat Benatar came on.  I had to check my facts, but I was right when I remembered it being from her album Tropico."  That album seemed quite different from her prior edgy, driving, super rock and roll releases.  In fact, when I think of this one, I think of how the album cover had colors and seemed a bit more, well, I'm not sure -- misty.  Not mystical, but just "misty" with the translucent colors and the gauzy, flowing fabric in the video.  It's amazing--everytime I listen to this song, Pat's voice actually cuts my feelings to the bone--but in a poignant way.  The lyrics to this song are really bittersweet and touching, so warning--tear alert!  Do not listen to this song if you are thinking about an ex boyfriend or girlfriend.  It will make you cry.  Luckily, the lyrics do seem to tell the tale of a couple who does stay together, but it can really make you tearful if you listen carefully.  "Don't want to leave you really...I've invested too much time...to give you up that easy...to the doubts that complicate your mind."  Wow.  Even the lyrics tell the tale of the over-thinking that can go on when you pay close attention to the lyrics...

Anyway, the video is pretty different for Pat.  The interesting thing about her music is that it truly is very diverse.  She explored so many different styles on her albums throughout the decades.  I guess we just seem to remember her hard rocking songs the most.  This one, although it is sad, is beautiful vocally and visually as well in regard to the video.  Again, interesting use of color.  Just a bit of green here and there (Pat's gloves, jewels in her earrings).  Her make-up is also very vibrant and typical of the day (1984).  Personally, I think she didn't need as much as she has in the video, but that was probably the call of the stylist and director.  She does look beautiful if  I must say so myself.  Pretty mesmerizing in fact.  She looks straight into the camera, which always amazes me.  I really don't like cameras, so I give her credit. She is one powerful lady.  I do hope you enjoy "We Belong."

Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield

Well, I am away from home at a conference again, so it took me a while to decide on a tune for this evening.  I did a bit of browsing and decided to take a look at Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield."  I absolutely LOVE this song and always did.  I can't believe it came out in 1983 -- it seems like just yesterday!  I used to play this song over and over and never got tired of watching the video, too.  I think I took a hiatus from listening to it in the past few years, because it may have gotten just a bit too much airplay for my taste.  It is a terrific song.  Don't want to spoil it by hearing it too much.

So, I heard it again this evening and watched the video.  I knew the video was terrific and remembered how cool the dance sequences were.  I read that Pat Benatar had to learn the dances and found it to be very challenging since she was not a dancer.  I can understand that.  The first time I saw an opera, I was amazed at how the chorus had to sing AND dance.  No way that I would be able to do that!  Anyway, the video is awesome.  If you haven't seen it in a while, check it out.  Short story line -- Pat plays a young woman who gets in an argument with her folks.  They throw her out of the house, she runs away (taking a bus out of town) and ultimately winds up as a prostitute/stripper or something like that.  I think it's a prostitute, because she is in some kind of club with a bunch of other women and one really, really ugly looking pimp.  Yikes.  His gold tooth and the look on his face are so creepy.  But, he is a terrific dancer.  You can tell when they have the little shoulder-to-shoulder dance off.  My guess is that the actor was a dancer.  Gotta love when Pat throws the drink in his face, too.  Take that, pimp!  She and the girls have one last dance number and then escape from the place.  Yup, they go out into the sunrise as opposed to sunset.  We see Pat on the bus again.  I guess she is on to her next destination (hopefully someplace with less scary pimps).  Just kidding.  I LOVE Pat Benatar.  I know others have tried to sing this song, but only Pat can do it the way it should be done.  She has a couple of tour dates in April.  Maybe I will get to see her!

Pressure, Anxiety, and Robots

The '80s were filled with so many love songs, which are typically my favorite, but I thought it would be interesting to look at some other styles this evening.  The dawn of music videos peeked everyone's interest and seemed sort of "other-worldly" at times.  There are so many videos with themes are references to space, technology, and well -- some things that are just plane scary.  I think back to 1982, when Billy Joel's "Pressure" was written, and as I watch the video,  I am reminded of the film "Poltergist."  Boy did that movie scare me.  There were so many others, too, and I think we were all a bit enthralled by horror and the paranormal back then. 

Anyway, the three songs and videos that scared me the most back in the day were (1) "Pressure" by Bill Joel (2) "Anxiety" by Pat Benatar, and (3) "Mr. Roboto" by Styx.  I'll probably take a look at numbers 2 and 3 a bit later, but I felt like hearing some Billy Joel this evening.  He really is a master songwriter and extremely gifted musician.  The nice thing about this tune is that it is all keyboards and vocals -- and it can still scare the daylights out of you.  I listen to it now and kind of imagine how creepy it would sound on harpsichord... just a thought.  If you listen to the song, the lyrics are clearly about a man who is, well, having trouble dealing with the pressures in life.  He's discovering that everything is not all roses and sunshine or "peachy keen," and it is piling up.  My favorite line from the song is "you turned the tap dance into your crusade, now here you are with your faith, and your Peter Pan advice."  Yup -- Peter Pan advice.  Touché!  I have no idea why I like that part so much, but it is awesome.  I should use that line more often. 

In the video, you will notice all kinds of strange, semi-paranormal things -- like people sinking into floors and being pulled sideways into walls.  Coffee spills by itself, water is pouring out or a song man's desk at school.  Kind of creepy and out of control!  Nothing like being stuck in a maze, either.  I guess this video is probably better for Halloween or something, but, the song is just so well-composed that I couldn't resist.  Nice to visit something different every now and then.

Maria, Blondie, and Pat Benatar

Okay--so I admit that the title of this post is a bit odd.  Let me explain.  I was watching "Behind the Music: Remastered" on VH-1 Classic.com.  It was the episode about Pat Benatar, who is probably my absolute favorite female singer from the '80s (and my idol!).  Toward the end of the episode, they showed a clip of Debbie Harry from Blondie because she and Pat had recently toured together. This reminded me of how much I enjoyed the song "Maria" by Blondie, which was released in 1998.  So, technically, that is not an '80s song, but it was the first hit for the group since they broke up in 1982.

Anyway, Pat and Debbie are both amazing singers, and I wanted to share a light song this evening, so I thought "Maria" was perfect.  Looking at the lyrics and reading a bit about the song, I found out that it is about a boy's love/infatuation for a girl from because the boy was shy and "awkward."   The whole "Maria" and "Ave Maria" related to the idolization concept and the idea of the girl being sort of "untouchable" to this extremely insecure boy.  Pretty neat.  I hadn't thought much about it before since I just loved the vocal quality in the song and the very awesome chime sounds.  I do hope you will enjoy this tune.  There are so many Blondie and Pat Benatar songs that are amazing, so perhaps this will be sort of an interlude to more posts with their music!

Heartbreaker

One of my absolute favorite songs of all time is "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar.  I wanted to say it was my all-time favorite 80s song, but I did a bit of research this evening and found out that it was released in October of 1979.  So, it technically just squeezed itself in before the new decade.  Pat was always a visionary in my opinion, so I think it is fitting!  What can I say about this song?  It truly rocks.  It is the epitome of rock.  With high energy drums and guitar breaking way for Pat's extraordinary voice, the song takes off from the beginning and just keeps cranking and rocking all the way through.  It's sort of a "super power" rock song, and the lyrics are incredible as well.  Take a listen, and you can hear them clearly as Pat delivers them with a punch.  She sings about a man who sounds like a rock version of Cassanova or Don Giovanni.  I absolutely LOVE the chorus: "You're a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker don't you mess around with me...you're a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker don't you mess around--no, no, no!"  Guitars fuel the force, and the song itself is a virtual rock tidal wave.  As I was thinking about the song, I realized that the chorus is very clever and creative.  I wondered what it would be like to switch around parts of the words, since some were essentially "created" with word combinations..."heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker..."  If we sing "heart breaker, dream taker, love maker" it would get the same message across.  It would be awesome to hear Pat sing that variation, all the while pointing at you with super rock intensity.  Ms. Benatar...we concede to your greatness!!!!!!  So glad that you chose rock over opera, even though you have the powerhouse voice for both.  

Hope you enjoy Heartbreaker.  It is number 24 on the Amazon MP3 Player to the right.  Just for fun, I've also included two video versions of the song (one retro and one more recent --both are terrific!).