Pat Benatar and The Bangles @Perth Zoo (29/10/2010)

Sun 31st Oct, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Friday Night at Perth Zoo offered a night filled with memories of bad fashion and good music as people made their way to watch Pat Benatar and The Bangles rock their socks off like it was 1985. The turnout was quite impressive if the density of the crowd wedged into the main grassed area between the white-cheeked Gibbons and the three metre Crocodiles was anything to go by.

The few patrons unfortunate enough not to be VIP were seated far enough away that even the security guards seemed apologetic. The fans who purchased general admission persevered through the brisk evening sans leg warmers and sweat bands but armed with picnic blankets, cheese and Jatz.

Peering through the large obscuring trees to the tiny stage at one end of the field, the obvious grunge rock sound felt as if it was disrupting the picnickers somewhat once The Bangles had begun to play. Perhaps some people were confused as to why they were there or had merely neglected to leave once the actual zoo had closed for the day. Soon enough, however the crowd had settled into watching a bangle or two sway on the spot with their instruments in hand as they attempted to rock their songs out.

Now it should be mentioned that the Bangles originally started out as an underground garage sounding rock band which was clearly evident throughout their set. The harsh guitar riffs and raw harmonies lent a real earth feel to their stage performance that doesn’t come through on their more popular recorded pop sound of twenty years ago.

The set list was very clearly all about the memories as they started with a raw rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s A Hazy shade of Winter and finished with one of their biggest hits Walk like an Egyptian. The highlight for the Chardonnay sipping crowd was very clearly Eternal Flame, slight harmony issues notwithstanding.

Soon it was time for Pat Benatar if the cheesy American voice over introducing her to the stage was anything to go by. It was in the opening riffs of All fired up that you really started to see the ‘lawn chair potato’ patrons actually sit up and start paying true attention. This was what everyone had been waiting for. The spotlight that was shining directly on our heroine showed an auburn haired woman dressed in black gently rocking from side to side like a child on a play date who hadn’t been introduced to anyone yet. By We belong, however, the Pat Benatar that fans had paid to see truly came out to shine, chatting with the crowd and instigating a mobile phone light wave.

The sweetest part of this very clearly rock n’ roll set was the easy banter between Pat Benatar and her long-time guitarist/soul-mate/husband Neil “Spyder” Giraldo for the introduction of I don’t want to be your friend. Sharing stories of their domestic bliss and speaking of their two children it felt as if you were truly invited to a jam in their very large, grassed living room.

Towards the end of the set it was time to get to business and leave behind some of the more obscure songs of her career as the crowd was slapped with pop hit after pop hit such as Hit me with your best shot and the highly anticipated Love is a Battlefield of which the majority of the song was sung by the crowd with reckless abandon.

It was a great night for delving into the past through song. The overwhelming humbleness of both acts and the sheer pleasure of the crowd at hearing some of their all-time faves made the evening definitely something to remember.