Marty’s photo of the day #2275: I saw Pat Benatar at the Saint Paul Civic Center in 1981. My opinion back then was that she was better on record than she was on stage. Not that she sucked or anything. She just wasn’t exciting live. I would have never gone to a Pat Benatar concert again, except that when I went to see Melissa Etheridge on Sunday night, she was part of the package.
Now, 36 years later, I have to say that Benatar has improved. She’s much better at interacting with the audience, and her voice is as strong as ever. Still, I can’t put her among the best live performers I’ve seen. Great frontwomen and frontmen, who don’t play instruments, make the audience feel the music through their bodies. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and Shirley Manson of Garbage are among the best at doing that. In my opinion, Pat Benatar just doesn’t have the stage presence those two have. That being said, the audience loved her, and I enjoyed the show.