That five day work trip in Las Vegas commenced,
and after arriving at KCI pretty darn late and slowly driving back to Lawrence
in the blinding rain, I was exhausted. But, I had one more trip in me. Two
superstar acts from the 80s were appearing at Memorial Park in Omaha, Neb. that
Friday, June 28—Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo w/ Loverboy—yet another free
concert that I simply could not miss. Lucky for me, my boss granted us a free day.
That morning I sneaked in a workout and caught up on a few things at home,
and then hit the road. I planned on going to this concert one way or another, but I was extremely fortunate to sweet talk my parents into joining me.
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| With my mom, one half of my perfect parents |
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| And with my dad, the other half of my perfect parents |
I begged them for the last
month, but it was not confirmed until the very last second. I met up with them
where they live in Sabetha, Kan., and then headed north to Omaha. The park
opened an entire 13 hours before we got there, but that did not stop me from
taking us right up front.
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| View of the stage from the merchandise stand |
The event was promoted by Bank of the West in celebration of America, and holy
moly do they ever know how to book a rock show! Morgan Leigh from SoCal who
appeared on this past season of American Idol and her band won a Facebook
contest against 200 other bands to open the show. The pop country crew lit up
the stage with a few current popular tunes and a hand full of originals that
brought the crowd to life. So happy I had the opportunity to catch them live and sure hope to see more from them in the future.
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| The Morgan Leigh Band |
After a brief intermission and an opportunity to pick up some gimmicks at the
merch table, Loverboy took to the stage. The performers of hits like “Turn Me
Loose,” “Working for the Weekend,” “Hot Girls in Love” and “Lovin’ Every Minute
of It” rocked the park and the entire city. These were the heavier sounds of my youth pounding through my
core as I watched from so close to the loud speakers. I was ablaze and indeed
loving every single minute of it. In fact, I loved every minute of it for the next three days as I endured the best headache ever!
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| Loverboy |
One more quick break in the performances as we caught our breath and braced ourselves for the headlining powerhouse act, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo. I was blown away—just so much talent, so much passion in their music. The early era of MTV blasted their sounds nearly endlessly. In fact, Spyder was the first guitarist ever featured on the music station. With so many hits, so many staple songs from the decade, I am confident that the mass population knows these songs by heart. They tore the stage down with hits like “Love is a Battlefield,” “Invincible,” “We Belong” and “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” as well as topped it all off with a sensational encore that featured some absolute electrifying guitar riffs.
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| Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo |
This will go down as one of
my utmost favorite concerts I have no doubt! The scene, the mood, the sounds
and the speakers turned up just right, as well as a fantastic display of
fireworks to cap off the night. Everything was just ideal, and I am so incredibly
happy I could have my parents there to witness it with me—they truly made it perfect. I am very anxiously
awaiting to see and hear what Bank of the West has in store for next year’s
celebration
Coming up in Part 5 of One Crazy 80s Summer
in 2013—seeing my absolute favorite movie “Back to the Future” in the theater
for the first time!
