Nurse Nikki's Neon Nightcrawl to the Wynn Theater for Pat Benatar, Saturday August 3, 2019

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo- August 3, 2018 Wynn Theater 

by guest blogger NIkki Ruffling

Saturday night my friend Cindy and I went to see Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo for their 40th Anniversary showcase. This was the first time I have seen Pat/Neil and Cindy’s first time too.

 The Wynn theater is a small showroom set up like a theater with seats that graduate up, and there is a mezzanine. Seems to fit about 500 people. We had orchestra seats, but we ended up moving up to the “cheap” seats because there was more space. It is packed full seating wise in this theater, but the sound acoustics are great, and the stage set up is nice.

 Pat and Neil did not have an opening band and came on promptly at 8pm. I have read Pat’s autobiography and it is a must read for all ladies who are into music or musicians themselves. She is a straightforward New Yorker…tough, independent, smart and talented. She has lived a “non-rock star” lifestyle with her husband Neil and their 2 daughters. It truly shows in their musicianship and vocal range.

Neil Giraldo is an amazing guitarist. He is sort of an “unsung” guitarist- people in the know go on about his skill, but most people don’t really know him. He is from Cleveland, Ohio and before he played with Pat in 1979, he played guitar with Rick Derringer’s band. He also writes most of Benatar’s songs and does the musical arrangements. She also helped write songs with him, and they have been a couple since 1982. They really are a great musical couple, seeming to get along and no attitudes or biting criticism on stage.

Pat and Neil started out with some of their hits- “Promises in the Dark”, “Heartbreaker”, “Treat Me Right”, “You Better Run” and “Hell is for Children”. Pat’s voice is still amazing and strong, and she doesn’t seem to be struggling during high notes. She keeps hot tea in a cup on a stool, and she drinks in between songs. She can hit all her old ranges, and Neil’s backing vocals were right on the money.

Neil’s guitar playing was amazing, he used multiple guitars and acoustics- Gretsch, 12-string, Martins. He looks like a Rockabilly dude-pompadour, wing tipped shoes, chain wallet. It was a great treat. Pat looked amazing in black leather pants and black shirt, but none too tight or revealing. They were dressed classy. Their backing band consisted of “Brian from NY” on bass (and even broke out an acoustic bass) and “Dave” on drums. Both amazing musicians. About halfway through their set, Pat and Neil became an acoustic duo and did “We Belong” and a stripped-down version of “Fire and Ice”. After a 3-song acoustic duo, they went back to their electric set and finished out with the hits like “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”, “Love is a Battlefield” and “Invincible”. Also, Pat included a song off a musical that her and Neil have been working on for four years, a beautiful song called “After the Fall”. That was somewhat lost on the audience, as they were looking for the big hits, but I enjoyed it because the lyrics were beautiful like good poetry should be.

 The show was almost 2 hrs. in length, and Pat and Neil really interacted with audience, with little stories about the songs and how they were created. It was a great set, and I was so glad I finally got to see Pat Benatar, definitely another one off my bucket list!