Almost two years ago exactly, I blogged here about my first time seeing the pint-sized powerhouse that is Pat Benatar, and this past Saturday night, I got to see her for the second time in my life. This time, however, things were a bit different. First of all, instead of finding out about the concert a month or so after the tickets had gone on sale, I found out about it almost two weeks before they went on sale, so I was able to be there just as they did and get myself a fantastic ticket, second row center stage. Pat would be right in front of me most of the show. The ticket was a little more expensive than last time, but that was fine with me. I've never had tickets so close before, and ten dollars extra to be that close was well worth it. The second difference, this time, was that I wouldn't have to rely on public transportation to get there and back. I was able to arrange a ride with some neighbors who were going (and who, unbeknownst to me, went last time as well -- if I'd known, I could have saved the 15 + hours of waiting, but oh well... live and learn) though they weren't able to get their tickets at the same time I did. Still, this would be a huge difference from the last time, and an enormous help. Third, this time, Blondie was opening up for Pat, instead of the no-name act she had last time. Since I happen to like Blondie too, I thought this would be a very cool arrangement, though I couldn't help but wonder... the two have very different musical styles, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. The fact that the ticket prices were still low for two relatively big names surprised me, but I wasn't complaining The fourth difference was that, though neither the website nor the ticket mentioned it, there was also a third group on the bill, a group I'd heard of but never heard anything from: The Donnas. They had been mentioned on Pat's website as being with them for other dates, but not this one, so it was a surprise, and a pleasant one, as it would turn out. They were just walking on stage as I got to my seat, so it was pretty good timing. Unfortunately, as I said, I'm not familiar with their music, so I couldn't understand much of what was said in the songs, but they sounded good enough from what I could hear to seriously consider getting their latest cd at least. The singer balanced the music with talking to the crowd very nicely, unlike some I've seen in the past, and three of the four ladies seemed to be energetic and really enjoying themselves. The only one who didn't move much was the bass player. I don't know their names, unfortunately, but that will also hopefully change if I get their cd. It was a shame their set came to an end seemingly only about fifteen minutes later. When Blondie came out about twenty minutes later, I was not impressed. I can't be sure, but when they came out, they all looked so stoned, I couldn't help but wonder who would be the first to trip over something or fall down. Luckily no one did. I only have The Best of Blondie, so unfortunately, a lot of what they played, I wasn't familiar with either. Of the few I know, they played "Atomic", "Call Me", "One Way or Another", "The Tide is High", "Hanging on the Telephone", "Heart of Glass", and, though I hoped they WOULDN'T play it, "Rapture" (I never HAVE liked that "song"). The last song they played was actually Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop til You Get Enough" which surprised me. I had wondered if either Pat of Debbie would make mention of Michael, but nothing was said about him. Finally, though, it was time for Pat to come out. She was supposed to be on from 9:10 to 10:25, according to one of the staffmembers there, and she came out I'd say within two minutes of her scheduled time. The first thing that struck me was how short she is, but as she has proven time and time and time again, that does nothing to lessen the power of her voice, and she proved it once again Saturday night, rocking her way through classics like "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "Love is a Battlefield", "You Better Run," and "Shadows of the Night". They started the night the same way they did two years ago with "All Fired Up", and essentially stuck to a shortened version of the playlist they used then. Once again, she introduced "Invincible" by saying it was from "the worst film ever made", and again, I had to disagree. There are so many films that have come out that are a lot worse than "The Legend of Billie Jean", but I digress. Keeping with tradition, she also performed "Hell is for Children" once again, as she always does... she says it's keeping a promise she made years ago in New York that they'd perform it at every concert they did until every child everywhere was safe. Once again, she had me very close to crying with that song. It's still one of the most powerful songs she has. The sad thing is, I don't think they'll ever be able to stop playing it. I'm not going to list all the other songs she played, because this is running long enough as it is, but I have to say, unlike last time, I didn't leave this concert thinking something was missing. Yeah, it probably would have been better if The Donnas had gotten another twenty minutes maybe, and Pat had gotten the remaining time, totally eliminating Blondie from the set, but Pat herself seemed to be more energetic than she was last time, moving around more than I remember her doing last time. Something else that made it even better than last time was the return of her long-time drummer Myron Grombacher, who wasn't behind the drums last time I saw her. With him back, a large part of the old band is back together, and it felt more right than it did. I would say all things considered this time, I'd have to give the night an A- this time... 8 stars out of 10, only because of the disappointing showing that Blondie made. Otherwise, it would have been perfect.