After the relative disaster that was Bob Dylan, I was really hoping that this show would be a good time. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed! Both artists delivered great shows and it ended up being my favorite night of the year so far. The headliner was Pat Benatar and she has had quite the career. Since releasing her first album in 1979, she has become a mainstay in the charts and was one of the highest selling female artists in the 1980's. Backed by her husband and virtuoso guitarist Neil Giraldo, her rock songs were at odds with many of the synthesizer songs in the 80's but this was overridden by the memorable guitar hooks and lyrics. She reached the peak of her success with the release of "Precious Time" and "Get Nervous" in 1981-1982. She and her band have continued to tour ever since although she hasn't released an album since 2003. She remains one of the biggest artists of the female rock outburst in the early 80's. Much like Benatar, Melissa Etheridge also branded herself as a hard rocker in the 80's. She released her first album in 1988 and her thick raspy voice gained her a large following. She also became an advocate for LGBT rights while increasing her stardom in the 1990's. She has continued to release albums into the present day with good success and has garnered two Grammy awards over her career.
Both women were fantastic. Etheridge was slightly more energetic and her voice was still as forceful as it was in the 80's. The best part of the concert, though, is that both artists played what the audience wanted to hear. Towards the end of the show, Benatar ran through three of her biggest hits and ended with "Heartbreaker", one of my favorites! Neither seemed to have aged at all and they truly seemed to enjoy performing. I was also really impressed with Giraldo and both bands. While I tend to deride 80's music as lightweight, these two musicians definitely go against that current and are true rock stars. The audience overall was very into the show and this made the night on the lawn pretty easy. It was another hot day but I got to inspect bags for the first time ever! Overall a great night to be at Wolf Trap.
My favorite part of the show was when Benatar ran through "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", 'Love is a Battlefield", and "Heartbreaker" all in one go. The audience sang every word and the place was rockin' more than I've seen it in a long time.
As always, looking forward to more shows in the future!
DC
Pat Benatar
Melissa Etheridge
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