Pat Benatar
REO Speedwagon
Mohegan Sun
June 26, 2010
Tony Pijar
The REO/Benatar-titled “Love on the Run Tour” commenced at the Mohegan Sun. REO opened the show with, basically, a greatest hits package. We got “Don’t let Him Go”, “Keep on Lovin’ you”, “Take it on the Run”, “Roll with the Changes”, and,” I can’t Fight this Feeling” which brought the band a zillion dollars all throughout the 80s. The more in-your-face-rockers such as “Keep Pushin”, “Flying Turkey Trot”, “Ridin’ the Storm Out”, and “Back on the Road Again” were more preferable to me and, apparently, many others as well. The band has such a rich and diverse back catalogue. You’ve got to remember that in the 70s REO was a raw rock band that melded 50s rock N roll with outlaw country rock. And “Nine Lives” is one of the best slices of polished hard rock you’ll ever hear. Kevin Cronin remains a wonderfully engaging and comical front man who is backed by a very capable band, but they should spread out a bit and dust off some of those obscure rockers from the old days.
Pat Benatar and husband Neil Geraldo are back on the road after a bit of a reprieve and I must say that she still possesses a great voice and does not look her 57 years of age – simply beautiful! Like REO, Benatar delivered a set of hits which included “Fire and Ice”, “Promises in the Dark”, “Sex as a Weapon”, “Love is a Battlefield”, “I Need a Lover”, “Hell is for Children”, and the crushing “Heartbreaker” which got the ball rolling for her in 1980. It was great to see her out there rockin’. She, along with The Runaways and Girlschool, was at the forefront of a movement which shed a spotlight on and lifted up females who had talent and could rock, and further exemplified the fact that girls should no longer be seen merely as sex symbols, but fully fledged members in the male-dominated world of hard rock.
