Mammoth Presented Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo Tour at Uptown Theater
With a name and voice synonymous with the ’80s, Pat Benatar and her husband and career-long guitarist Neil Giraldo packed Uptown Theater along Broadway in Kansas City, MO for an absolute indelible performance for the era on August 2, 2022. Paired with the nostalgic grit of the city’s cherished venue, fans seemingly transported four decades into the past the moment they passed by security and stepped through the front doors. Benatar’s ever-endearing mezza-soprano voice—still every bit that of her early-30s self—exploded through the building out into the streets and surely both ways up and down the boulevard leaving the nearly sold-out crowd utterly wonderstruck.
The Benatar-Giraldo tour dates came out following the announcement of their eminently deserved induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The trek kicked off on May 22 at Pompano Beach Amphitheater in Florida, which featured the final live performance of “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” one of their biggest and most recognizable songs. Benatar recently went on record that she is dropping the tune from all future shows in deference to the mass shootings that are ravaging our country. She has no shortness of other hits from her discography to perform out on route though.
From the moment that Benatar and the band took to the stage, fans were on their feet to rock out their ever-loving hearts. Each song received possibly the loudest praises that Uptown Theater has ever seen, but they most certainly matched the magnitude of the performances. Those quintessential hits along with a handful of covers and even some other titles out from the woodwork shaped the night. The acoustic rendition of “We Belong” with Giraldo on piano and Benatar seated beside him was an ever-so sweet touch to the setlist. “Promises in the Dark” also started off acoustically, but switched to fully electric mid-song, which potentially brought fans to their highest point.
“In the Heat of the Night” had a thrilling presence in the set as well and particularly stood out with its swanky and methodical guitar-driven sound. Since the pandemic, Benatar and Giraldo also unwrapped “Purgatory” for live shows. After a little background about the song, Benatar—having stated that she is a history nerd—assured fans that if they know anything about history, then they know that everything is going to be okay. The all-powerful “Invincible” also played an important role. As of late, Benatar has used the song as a show of strength against COVID, but on this night she dedicated the theme song to “The Legend of Billie Jean” to all of the women out there.
The set was capped off in prime fashion with Benatar’s biggest hit of all, “Love is a Battlefield,” which landed for her the fourth Grammy Award of her career. A certain heightened level of ’80s aura joined the audience the second those electronic tom-tom sounds from the LinnDrum machine filled the air. She held back nothing, left it all the stage, yet gave fans possibly the highest pitched vocals of the night during her 3-song encore with a cover of “Helter Skelter.”
All of the glass in the house and even the neon lights of the marquee were resonating with those screams. It was like living in movie for 90 minutes—the sound so crisp, clear and striking—Benatar and Uptown Theater were seemingly a match made in Heaven. Five years was much too long to wait for her and Giraldo’s return to Kansas City. They were last time celebrating 35 years—this time it was 40—and much, so much has changed since then. Time, though, has had absolutely no affect on Benatar’s voice, her and Giraldo’s presence on stage or their solidified place in history and the hearts of millions throughout generations.
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo Setlist at Uptown Theater:
“No You Don’t” (The Sweet), “I Need a Lover” (John Mellencamp), “All Fired Up” (Rattling Sabres), “We Live for Love,” “Strawberry Wine,” “We Belong” (Lowen & Navarro), “In the Heat of the Night” (Smokie), “Promises in the Dark,” “Purgatory,” “River of Love,” “Invincible,” “Shadows of the Night,” “Hell is for Children,” “You Better Run” (The Young Rascals) and “Love is a Battlefield”; Encore – “Helter Skelter” (The Beatles), “Everybody Lay Down” and “Heartbreaker”/”Ring of Fire”/”Heartbreaker”
