Neil Giraldo - (Mr. Pat Benatar)

Neil Giraldo
(Mr. Pat Benatar)

House Of Blues - 7 July 98

The first time I saw Neil Giraldo was on Pat Benatar's first tour in 1979 at the Tampa theatre (in Tampa FL...imagine that!!!). My wife had to talk me into going to see Pat Benatar, but the ticket was only $1.95 due to a radio promotion by one of the rock stations in the area so I relented. Punk Rock was just beginning to raise its ugly head and the opening act was Tampa's "best" punk band at the time. I forget their name but my reaction was "I paid $1.95 for THIS!!!!". They were just about the worst band I had ever seen or heard. Anyway after about 45 minutes of pure noise, Pat Benatar and her backing band with Neil Giraldo on lead guitar came out and literally blew me away. My wife and I left feeling like we got the bargain of the century. Neil was awesome, and I was really impressed with his playing and guitar style. I have since gone to see both of them numerous times including the famous "passing out in the middle of the show" concert at Lakeland Civic Center. At that time the band and Neil Giraldo just kept on playing and really did some good guitar work.

Review of Pat Benatar show from the House Of Blues 7 July 1998

Pat Benatar rolled into the House Of Blues to a welcoming crowd who obviously had been fans for a long time. Scattered throughout the crowd were flowers, cards, books of poems, even a tambourine with long ribbons which were given to her during her set. The crowd was really good for a Tuesday night as the first and second floor of the HOB was full. Banatar's set was just under two hours but it included a broad range of songs, from some of her earliest hits (My Clone Sleeps Alone) through her later rocking songs (Hit Me With Your Best Shot) and finishing up with a totally new song which may show up on her next CD.

Pat's voice doesn't quite have the range from her early days, but it's still very strong and her newer songs have matured with her voice. Her last CD, "Innamorata", is an excellent album, with a broad range of styles from rocking to introspective. One of the best songs on the album, and the most requested song of Pat Benatar's live set, is an acoustic ballad called "Papa's Roses", which was done with just a single vocal and acoustic guitar. This was one of the highlights of the set.

Pat Benatar's longtime guitarist and husband Neil Giraldo, also known by the nickname "Spyder", switched guitars multiple times during the set, switching from a metalflake custom guitar to acoustic depending on the type of song. At the last HOB show a few months back, Neil mentioned that the custom guitar was built by a fan and given to him as a present. Neil Giraldo is one great guitar player, a veteran of studio work, and has played on every Pat Benatar album from the beginning. They will be celebrating (according to Neil) their 20th anniversary next year and releasing a four CD box set with classic songs, outtakes and never released material.

The sound mix during the night was really all over the place. The vocals were excellent all night long, however the music mix varied from excellent to muddied. Mostly the lead guitar was low in the mix and not up front where a lot of the songs needed it.

Overall...Pat Benatar gets a 10 and the HOB soundguys get a 7.

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