Rancho Mirage, CA
I vividly remember October 1979. I got into my friend’s car for car pool. I was in second grade. Usually, we listened to KJ100 on the way to school. It was a Top 40 station in Louisville, KY. I was more of a Top 40 kids, enjoying tunes from Elton John, Olivia Newton-John, and Blondie.
But that day, my friend’s dad was driving, so we listened to Q95, the Weasel. The Weasel played harder rock, and then a tune came on: “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar. Women were unusual to hear on the Weasel, with the exception of Stevie Nicks. Benatar’s sound was different, and I liked it a lot.
She had a sound that was raw and yet refined, like an experienced artist right out of the gate. There was a maturity to her voice even then—a bold, full, rich sound that stood apart.
I have had the privilege of seeing a lot of artists live over the years, but somehow it had never been in the cards for me to see Pat Benatar. That changed last Saturday at Agua Caliente’s The Show, where she performed with her husband and guitarist, Neil Giraldo.
From the moment she and Neil opened the show with “Shadows of the Night,” it was clear she still had amazing pipes. That is part of the magic about Benatar. What I heard for the first time as a second grader in the late ’70s was still there.
The same should be said about Giraldo’s skills with the guitar. Their music has always left room for both of them to really show their skills.
They played together as you would expect two longtime collaborators would, with inside jokes shared with the audience and a level of comfort that comes from spending decades making music together. Both were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a few years ago, and well deserved.
They played most of their old hits, along with some lesser-known songs and newer music sprinkled in. The show in Rancho Mirage was the last on this leg of their tour, and they also reached into their catalog for songs from “Gravity’s Rainbow.”
They talked about getting back to family and grandkids.
When did these ’80s rockers become some of the coolest grandparents ever?
Maybe that is part of what made the evening so interesting for me. I first heard Pat Benatar riding to elementary school in 1979. More than four decades later, I was finally sitting in an audience hearing that voice live.
And it was still there.
One last thing: if you are ever playing a trivia game and the question is, “Who was the first woman to be played on MTV?” The answer is Pat Benatar, with her hit “You Better Run.”
About Wesley:
I’m D. Wesley Spencer — writer, professor, theater devotee, and newly settled Palm Springs local who believes every community is richer when its stories are told well. I earned my Ph.D. in Performance Studies at Northwestern University, served as Executive Director of the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company, and now teach communication at College of the Desert.
I’m also co-author of Universal Creative Intelligence, a book about how creativity fuels human advancement — and yes, I’m still amazed that I get to spend my life talking about the arts, teaching the next generation, and celebrating the talent we have right here in the Coachella Valley.
If you see me at a show, come say hello. I love meeting the people who make this valley the vibrant, joyful place it is.
Universal Creative Intelligence: How the Arts and Sciences Propel Human Advancement