Pat Benatar

Several months ago, I got one of my regular emails from the Carson Center in Paducah. Pat Benatar would be there (with husband Neil Giraldo) for their fortieth anniversary tour. Given that I like Pat Benatar and it was close, I jumped on their website and grabbed up two tickets. Donna had no interest in going, but Jonathan did.

In the interest of full disclosure, I had a pretty big crush on Pat Benatar in high school (along with Debbie Harry and Patty Smyth). I ended up with someone much better of course. Donna also does a much better rendition of “Fire and Ice” when we used to play the Rock Band video game. I saw Pat Benatar in concert when I was in college at the University of Kentucky. I was actually able to find out that she was there in February of 1983. I could even see the setlist she did plus I found out her opening act was some band named “Preview”. I didn’t even remember that at all. My efforts to find out anything about the band Preview proved fruitless. I did find out that I paid 10.50 for a lower level ticket in Rupp Arena. I paid a bit more than that for the Carson Center tickets.

The date of the concert came and we headed for downtown Paducah. I strategically parked in a parking lot so we could easily pull out into a side street and get out quickly. We were allowed to go in, but had to wait in the lobby until thirty minutes before the concert to enter. Jonathan’s comment (of course) was “Everybody here is old!”. He was pretty much right. We spent the time talking with our friends Greg and Sheri Sanderson. We finally got to go in. Our seats were excellent. We saw next to a lady we know from church. My old friend (and lawyer) Chuck Walter came up and we talked. Finally, the lights went down and the concert began.

The concert started exactly on time (7:30pm). I had noticed a large banner on the stage background reading “Benatar-Giraldo XL”. I couldn’t get the reference to “Extra Large” until (duh) I finally realized that it was the Roman Number representation of forty. Pat Benatar’s voice is just as good and strong as it was all those years ago (she actually had started to train as an opera singer in her youth). Neil Giraldo still does a great job on guitar. She sang most of her well-known songs. Jonathan even recognized some of them that he had not realized til then that she sang. She also sang a few of her “deep tracks” and even a couple that I didn’t remember. She also talked about her initial days and how her life had changed. She even brought up the fact that she was now a grandparent and how much she loved that (which I can certainly identify with). It made me chuckle to myself thinking of a young child at a Grandparent’s Day introducing their grandmother Pat Benatar.

She played for about one and half hours. Her encore was “Heartbreaker”. In the middle of that song, she started a rendition of the Johnny Cash song “Ring of Fire” which I’d never heard her do. Then, she went back into the end of “Heartbreaker”. It was an excellent concert especially considering the fact that I was back home in less than thirty minutes (as opposed to much longer drives from other venues). The only song that she didn’t do that I would have liked to hear? “Fire and Ice” – although it would have been disappointing compared to Donna’s rendition.

Jeanne Robertson

One thing I’ve tried to foster over the years is a sense of humor and especially to learn to laugh at myself. If you know me, I certainly do some very funny things. Someone recently asked me for advice for Donna and I staying married for so long (33 years). One of the things I mentioned was having a sense of humor about things and being able to laugh even at the goofy things we sometimes do.

The comedians I grew up with are still to me some of the funniest. When I was a teenager, I bought several albums that Steve Martin recorded. Who else could have a hit song based on an Egyptian King? I stayed up late to watch Monty Python’s Flying Circus on KET. A new show debuted as I started high school called Saturday Night Live with guys like Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd and John Belushi. I have added a new favorite over the past couple of years. It is a lady named Jeanne Robertson.

She is not your classic comedian. She will even tell you she is not a comedian but a humorist who just tells funny stories about her life. I don’t remember precisely when I first heard of her. I think it was from some ladies at church who had gone to see her at the Carson Center a few years ago. She will tell you that she really became popular when she started posting clips to YouTube. The first one I remember is “Don’t Send A Man to the Grocery Store”. I’ve had some interesting adventures when Donna sends me to the grocery store, so I could identify. I listened to more of her clips on YouTube and even subscribed to her channel on Pandora. She is so funny telling stories of her life and family. For example, she calls her husband LB for Left Brain. Left brained people are analytical types. She will also tell you her husband is cheap. Do those two characteristics remind you of anyone you know 😊?

Anyway, I found out several months that she would doing another show at the Carson Center here in Paducah. I managed to get in on the presale and got great seats in the front row. I convinced Donna to come to the show with me. We went last Sunday afternoon. She calls this her “Rocking Chair” tour. Jeanne broke her femur a couple of years ago so now she does her show sitting in a rocking chair. She told all sorts of stories (several which I’d heard before) but they were all hilarious. She reminds me of somebody’s mom or granny just telling stories about their life. The best thing about her is all of her stores are clean with not even the hint of vulgarly or innuendo. They are all family friendly. Donna even enjoyed the show.

I love the advice Jeanne regularly gives – ”Look for the humor in stressful situations”. She also ends just about any interview I’ve heard with her with “Keep smiling!”. I think a lot of us would be better off if we just took that advice. Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. I certainly need to take that advice to heart.

I’d certainly recommend that you take a look at some of her clips on YouTube and if you have the opportunity to see her live, do so. Her shows are very reasonably priced and I think you’ll really enjoy yourself.