A Night Of Excess

Guitarist husband promises Benatar’s best shot

Pat Benatar, right, has been married to Neil Giraldo, her guitarist, for more than 30 years. The duo’s show, which was originally scheduled for the Arkansas Music Pavilion, will now take place inside the Walton Arts Center on Sunday.

Pat Benatar, right, has been married to Neil Giraldo, her guitarist, for more than 30 years. The duo’s show, which was originally scheduled for the Arkansas Music Pavilion, will now take place inside the Walton Arts Center on Sunday.

Friday, August 17, 2012

The economy continues to sputter. Job growth remains slow. Bad economic news lurks around every corner.

As a result, Neil Giraldo reasons, people want to remember times of excess and frivolity. And what better way to do that than through the music and lifestyle of the 1980s?

“We’ve been seeing this for the past five to 10 years,” says Giraldo, who plays guitar for and is married to Pat Benatar.

“It was a time of excess, and they are intrigued by that. People were spending money.”

The duo and the rest of their band have teamed up with fellow ’80s stalwarts Journey and Loverboy for a summerlong tour. When Giraldo and Benatar visit Fayetteville on Sunday night for a show at the Walton Arts Center, however, they will be the featured act.

They’ll resume the tour with Journey and Loverboy for a date at the Sandia Casino in Albuquerque, N.M.

Giraldo says solo events allow them to do something they can’t when serving as a supporting act, because a 50-minute opening set can’t contain all of Benatar’s hits.

At the height of her popularity, Benatar was one of music’s most recognized artists, and her album sales reflect it. Two of Benatar’s albums, “In the Heat of the Night” and “Crimes of Passion,” became platinum sellers, and 19 of her songs were Top 40 chart hits.

Benatar has won fourGrammy Awards.

Giraldo and his wife - who was not made available for a phone interview - have been together for 30 years, and he was in her band even before they were married.

“It’s business only onstage.

… But since we were each other’s muse, that has its own set of rules. But onstage, you can’t ignore you’re husband and wife,” he says.

They have long collaborated as songwriters, and Giraldo says the headlining slot gives them an opportunity to share a few new tracks as well. In the process of digitizing master recordings, Giraldo has discovered several demos and unfinished songs he would like to work into a setlist.

About 300 such possibilities exist.

Regardless of the set list, which will no doubt include iconic songs such as “Heartbreaker,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “Shadows of the Night,”Giraldo promises a blend of fun and emotion.

“First of all, we want to givepeople what they want - the hits,” Giraldo says. “By the time we’re finished, we wantthem to be tired. We hope they get everything that they wanted.”

Whats Up, Pages 13 on 08/17/2012