Well, if seeing Loretta Lynn sing "Coal Miner's Daughter" in a flaming red dress on the Opry while standing on the side of the stage...or seeing Crystal Gale sing "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" on the stage I just walked off of wasn't enough to make my head spin of late, I had the ULTIMATE thrill of a lifetime this past Thursday. I FINALLY, FINALLY got to meet my all-time idol, Pat Benatar, and see her perform. Believe it or not, I had never seen her in concert. I had bought 2 of Gaylord's vastly overpriced tickets for the Wildhorse Saloon months earlier. ($65 for an unreserved folding chair). Good thing though, because it sold out. My husband was there on official business (I could tell you but I'd have to kill you) so that's how we got backstage. SUCKA's!!! No...we were legit. He did conduct bid'ness. And, yes, believe it or not, I DID behave myself and did NOT salivate all over Ms. Benatar/Mrs. Giraldo. She and Neil were GREAT, very nice, very approachable. I asked her if she "signs things" to which she replied "yes, I do". So, I am now the proud owner of a signed (Pat and Neil) LP album cover of "Precious Time". The concert was AWESOME!!! Neil is an amazing guitar player, lots of fun to watch too. Pat sounds great! My fantasy concert would be one of mostly album cuts. She has so many great songs that were not singles. But she mainly did her biggest hits. I enjoyed hearing some of those live more than I expected. I mean, I really don't need to hear "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" AGAIN. But hearing it and seeing it live is, well, a moment. Neil played the solo almost note for note, which is cool, I think. That solo, and so many of his others, are integral parts of those songs. If he strayed, it'd be like Pat not singing the melody. So, while I'm sure he'd like to play something else, it's cool that he doesn't. Give the people what they want!!! Give the little buggers "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"!!! I did get one sublime album cut moment when they did one of my all-time faves, "Painted Desert" from the "Tropico" record. WOW, of all the album cuts to do...that song has always knocked me out. They did a CMT Crossroads in Nashville a couple years back. It was Pat and Martina McBride. So, as anticipated, Martina came out towards the end of the show and sang on "Promises in the Dark". As y'all may or may not know, I cover one of Pat's songs, written by Neil, "We Live For Love". That was from her first record, "In the Heat of the Night" and I wanted it on my first record. I had planned to give them a copy, but the timing didn't seem right. So, I'll still work on getting that to them. Maybe they'll give it a listen, and maybe like it. Or not. What an amazing night I had. I can't even tell ya. I wouldn't be singing if I hadn't seen that woman on tv, and hadn't bought every one of those records, devoured and digested them. I often get compliments on my vocal range. What can I say? It comes from singing to all those Pat Benatar records over and over and over. Sure, there were many other female singers before and during that time period. But she's the one that struck a nerve in me. I just love that woman.