The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 14, 1983, Page 10, Image 10
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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
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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
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Alabama's baritone Randy Owen leads one
Carolina Coliseum. Owen and the other bam
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before the concert, talking about their music a
it
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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,
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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
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more appealing.
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, * 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
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Fiery rocker Pat Benatar riveted her Carolina Co
her sinainn anri lianninn Saturday ninht
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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.
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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
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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,
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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...
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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
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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