My Summer In The ‘80s—

Staples Of The ‘Me Generation’

And MTV Have Hit The Road

By John Voket

Now that VH-1, the “adult-oriented” video music channel, is on the verge of producing a weekly nostalgia show looking back to the 1990s, the ‘80s have suddenly become retro. And much like the ‘70s-style hip-hugger jeans, VW bugs and flip-flop sandals that came back into vogue in recent years, you can’t venture out to a regional music venue this summer without seeing the names – and albeit chunkier or more world-weary faces – of the many bands and musicians who helped launch the fledgling MTV network back in those by-gone days of the ‘80s.

I admit now, that I was one of those skinny-tie and hair band devotees that rushed home from college classes to see the latest videos from Madonna, Prince, Van Halen, Pat Benatar and all the other artists who were making music visual long before the video music network became overpopulated with reality shows and trend programming.

So it was with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation that I plunked down my hard-earned dollars for tickets to visit – or revisit – the recent concert experiences of the abovementioned musicians. Would these acts withstand the test of time, or would they simply serve as parodies of themselves as younger, leaner and more venerable icons, rehashing their greatest hits like so many oldies circuit and state fair fodder that had come before?

Even performers like David Byrne, Sting and Annie Lennox – formerly fronting big ‘80s groups Talking Heads, The Police and Eurythmics respectfully, are enjoying decent ticket sales for their summer headlining tours. And don’t write off groups like Kiss, Rush, Boston, Styx and Journey, with roots extending back to the ‘70s, or even ‘60s hold-outs like Yes, Rod Stewart, The Grateful Dead (sans the late Jerry Garcia, now referred to as just The Dead) and Eric Clapton that enjoyed ongoing success throughout the ‘70s and renewed excitement in the ‘80s as some of their less vintage material found new younger audiences via music television broadcasts.

All of these acts and more have either passed through the area, or will this summer – and more than a few of them are still worth a listen. In the coming weeks I’ll chronicle my MTV-generation time trip while re-examining and reviewing some of these performers in a series I’ll call “My Summer in the ‘80s.”

Among the road-tested ‘80s performers on tour now are the husband and wife team of Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. The pair, now co-headliners thanks to the recognition “Mr Benatar” (Giraldo) has received for his contribution to Benatar’s many hits, recently thrilled a near-capacity crowd at Torrington’s Warner Theatre.

The duo, with children and backing band in tow, will return to the state on Saturday, July 24, for a turn at Ives Concert Park in Danbury.

I must admit, hearing those familiar ‘80s rockers like “Treat Me Right,” “We Live for Love,” “Heartbreaker” and “Shadows of the Night” made me flash back to my college days (daze…), but the performance was made even more enjoyable by the interplay between husband and wife. These two are genuinely fun to watch together, joking and riffing off each other on subjects ranging from living with a hardheaded Italian (Giraldo) to the joys of touring hot on the heels of moving (the family relocated from Los Angeles to Maui in May).

After 23 years of marriage and thousands of shows, Benatar and Giraldo are still cranking it out as well as they ever have, maybe better – flavoring their set list with drawn out individual solos during their rendition of “Invincible” – about the only memorable element from the sound track of the otherwise forgettable film The Legend of Billy Jean.

The pair then gave bassist Mick Mahan and drummer Billy Ashbaugh a break, breaking out an acoustic guitar and a couple of barstools for a stripped-down but still electrifying rendition of “Love is A Battlefield.” Benatar explained that she and her husband liked to give audiences a chance to hear some of their material the way it was originally composed – she singing along to him strumming on a single guitar, before all the layers of studio production turn the arrangements into tracks for their finished albums.

“Battlefield” was followed with “Sorry,” one of three new songs in the set from their latest release, Go. Partway through the song, Benatar stepped down from her perch to wander around the stage, ending up draped around Giraldo’s shoulders, her head lovingly pressed to his as the vocals faded away. Even though I imagine this to be a nightly concert ritual, there was no doubt the interaction was a genuine display of affection and support from one loving spouse to the other.

As the show moved through its second half, Benatar bravely revisited the album that might have been her undoing, the decidedly un-‘80s True Love, a tribute to the blues roots that inspired both her and Giraldo. Her delivery of the title track also provided Giraldo with a great opportunity to unfurl his full range of talents, releasing him to wander about the audience, high-fiving excited fans while tearing through an almost seven-minute solo flavored with stylings reminiscent of fellow guitar greats like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Brian Setzer.

Giraldo returned to the stage for a riveting rendition of “Hell is for Children,” which was slowed slightly from the album version, providing a more deliberate pace as Benatar reached for and hit virtually all the high notes. Next was a fierce take on one of their biggest and oldest hits, “Heartbreaker,” before a quick encore turnaround that delivered the most unmemorable tune of the evening, the title track from Go.

All was quickly forgiven, however, as the familiar lead-in to “Promises in the Dark” gave way to “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” and the closer, “All Fired Up.”

If you’re looking for a great way to relive the music of the ‘80s, you would do well to check out this show when it returns to Danbury next Saturday. At just $25 for a lawn seat ($11 for the kids) tickets are much more economically priced than, say Madonna or Rod Stewart. In fact, for the same $72 to admit a family of four to the Ives, you can barely get into a Madonna concert T-shirt, never mind a seat.