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-entertainmei Mnn 4iiia mi UIIC'IVUU pi Little Pat B By Lisa Blackford The awesome power of a diminutive woman entranced and excited a nearly full house in Carolina Coliseum Saturday night. Pat Benatar, the little gal with the big voice, rocked and rolled across the stage in a performance that crackled with raw energy. Dressed in a sexy, slitted black miniskirt with a matching iarkpt anH ?pnnin#iH ?rlr?v?c D j ~ t>*~ * Benatar's presence was almost hypnotic. She seduced her audience with dramatic singing and dancing, belting out fiery rock tunes and purring through slower, sultry numbers. BENATAR BURST onto the stage with a rendition of her hit "Treat Me Right," riveting the crowd with her urgent delivery. The popular rocker continued her show with a barrage of scorching hits, including "Fire and Ice," "I Need You" and "Precious Time." She belted out "At First," from her latest album, "Get Nervous" ? but not before telling the crowd to "let us know when you get tired." It often seemed as if Benatar was capable of lastinf* as lont* as hf?r hor performance rarely slackened its breakneck pace. Only after "Little Too Late" did Benatar seem to hint at a change of mood with different lighting. The Coliseum darkened even more, and a white spotlight followed the singer as she danced a slow, sensual beat tn "Fiuht It Out." THE TEMPO soon increased however, and Benatar's rock energy again took ... Alabama ret I' . KHMM? IsSP it jK - ' Alabama's baritone Randy Owen leads one Carolina Coliseum. Owen and the other bam a a #1 I mm I. II ? I eddy lieniry ana drummer mar* nnrnnon \i before the concert, talking about their music a it ? unch enatar excites bi center stage. Stripping off her jacket, she barreled through several other tunes, at one point inspiring lead guitarist Neil Geraldo to showcase a bit of solo talent. But what brought the crowd to its feet was the back-to-back power of "Shadows of the Night" and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," which earned roars of approval. Relentless, Benatar continued wth "Heartbreaker," one of her earliest and biggest hits. After two short encores and a ripping version of "Hell is For Children,',' which included solos from guitarist Geraldo, i\v,jr uuoi ULOl vnai lie VI1U1 uanu d 1 IVi Vil UlllIllCl Myron Grombacher, Benatar said good night to Columbia. Two other aspects of the evening made the concert pleasurable for this reviewer. The first was the entertaining sound of the opening band, Preview. COMBINING CLEAN vocals with strong chords, Preview's music was worth remembering. Still a young band, with a debut album yet to be released, Preview's style Deiied experience. The second factor was Benatar's postconcert receptiveness. While many toprated performers spend little time or effort in personal relation to their a<* tring public, Benatar demonstrated a distinct difference. Weary but friendly, the former employee of a local Citizens and Southern National Bank branch spoke of the tedium of traveling. Supplied with a buffet of food and beverages, Benatar was quick to engage in casual conversation, showing an offstage f>1acc that malroc tVio nncfido ^ \Z V 1 more appealing. HPpM ^Mr^ , H^SH 41? ^jj $ ' BB;Wfr -V ': MSSShS^O/^KM wM P*P? /< : 9.- fcjjgrorBfflBtotiyS : mB&T 4' , * Photo by Chip Lowell of the group's popular harmonies Friday night in i members - guitarist Jeff Cook, bass guitarist ibove right) ? relaxed at a press conference nd an album soon to be released. g crowd with po f - _ ^ -j _"~_ _"": _ -t :HPBSF|^K:::' '" : yt >'- - ?<< mmWBBKKH^BntSWKMT IPiiiiiBIWiBr: t: VjL1';.-.^: .'.'.11^^^^ ? l |v.:; sii It;v!^ I-: v^.r; . ?| Fiery rocker Pat Benatar riveted her Carolina Co her sinainn anri lianninn Saturday ninht M w a w "*0"" with less musica By Randall Holcombe If there was one feeling shared among the crowd that packed Carolina Coliseum Friday night, it had to be anticipation. rnl i " 41 ' i ne reiurn 01 Aiaoama and Janie Fricke was a reunion in a way. Artists and audience had come together again to find out if the musical magic exhibited in the Coliseum last year could be re-created. It couldn't. NOT THAT the concert wasn't of high If Wv U * t->*v ?? ?- * 11 ijucuiij, uuiu nit: group anci tne solo artist delivered excellent performances. But the ingredient that drove last year's concert crowd into a frenzy, brought Alabama back for encore after encore and made it seem as if the Coliseum roof would be blown across the Congaree River was missing. Fricke, the 1982 Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, rvrxo, rvnrl ?Urv... ?'11 UFv..tu me snow wun a nice blend of the smooth country ballads she recorded early in her career and her recently released pop/rock hits. The crowd responded enthusiastically to all her songs, especially the No. 1 hit, "It Ain't Easy." The most endearing asoects of Kricke's act, though, were the pure sweetness of her voice and her stage manner. The inventor of the cliche, "sings like an angel" must have had Fricke in mind. If iwer, energy... tib? : . ...... Ptiolo by Mick Richards liseum audience with the power and energy of il magic "Janie Fricke Hugs" had been sold on the concourse after thp rnnrprt thoro'o m*io ? v V f V>lVi V* O HVttV doubt that every male in attendance would have come forward with checkbook in hand. IF ANYONE ever leaves an Alabama performance unsatisfied, it won't be because the group lacks effort. Friday night, the four-man, country/rock band from Fort Payne, Ala., worked and sweated like demons onstage. The devotion of Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, Jeff Cook and Mark Herndon to their fans was repaid by long lines waiting on the concourse for autographs after the show was over. Aiaoama played 19 songs, including all its biggest hits and some tunes that will be on a new album. All the songs brought roars of approval from the crowd, especially "Love in the First Degree," "Feels So Right," "Old Flame," "My Home's in Alabama" and a new single called "Dixieland Delight." But "Mountain Music" was the only number that got the crowd standing, stomping and clapping with the beat ? and probably sent USC geologists scurrying to check their seismographs. THE SEVEN hot summers Alabama spent at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach piaying ior ups nas paid off. Baritone Owen, who takes the lead in most of Alabama's See "Alabama," paga 11