Nov. 5, 1979 review: Pat Benatar's first appearance at Harvey and Corky's Stage One

 


First appearance here by Pat Benatar and she’s the opening act.

Nov. 5, 1979 

Werner Wears Out His Welcome After Benatar's Boogieing

         Terry Sullivan of the Jumpers recognizes him as he walks in with David Werner's band – Thom Mooney, who used to play drums with another whiz kid, Todd Rundgren, in Nazz 10 years ago.

         Now Mooney's drumming for a guy whose first album five years ago was called "Whizz Kid." There are a couple things that are definitely right-on about David Werner Sunday night in Harvey and Corky's Stage One and one of those things is the drumming.

         Another is the guitar work. Sassy and sinuous, these guitars will deliver Werner anywhere he wants to go. Red-shirted guitarist Mark Doyle seems born to play Mick Ronson to Werner's David Bowie.

         Werner bears more than a passing resemblance to Bowie. There's a similar voice of doom, a similar set of brooding eyes under ominous brows, a similar head of blown-back hair, a similar black vest and tie.

         Considering this is Werner's first tour, his first experience as a front man, he works hard and he pretty much carries it off. The band, meantime, serves up a dozen delicious hard-rock variations for him to work with.

         But playing Bowie is a played-out concept these days. Those slick Anglo-American rock derivations ain't exactly what's happening anymore. Which is why Werner gets only one encore and some of the crowd of 300 starts drifting away in the middle of his headlining set.

         For them, the big sensation of the night had already come and gone, in the petite personage of singer Pat Benatar. She left the place delirious with delight. She got two encores.

         Benatar's one of the new breed of women vocalists who know how to rock. Dressed all in black except for a bright red belt, she laid down fiery singing on top of her band's torrid attack.

         Benatar brought it all to a boil with a raved-up "Heartbreaker" off her debut album, "In the Heat of the Night," then for encores socked out footstomping renditions of the Rascals' 1966 hit, "You Better Run," and Richie Valens' 1958 classic, "Come On, Let's Go." After that, Werner didn't stand a chance.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Pat Benatar in 1979.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: This was David Werner's high-water mark. He had just released his self-titled album, which reached No. 65 on the Billboard 200 chart. In an interview with Gary James on ClassicBands.com, Werner said he was the victim of a wrinkle in the music industry in 1979, when the record companies decided to stop taking back unlimited amounts of unsold records from the distributors and the stores. He went into songwriting and had a hit with Billy Idol, "Cradle of Love."

As for Pat Benatar, her first album appeared in August and had just entered the Billboard charts. Her big hit with "Heartbreaker" was yet to come. When she came back to Stage One at the end of December, she was the headliner and she sold the place out. Nothing on setlist.fm from this appearance, but here's what she did a few nights later at the Bottom Line in New York City.

If You Think You Know How to Love Me (Smokie cover)

So Sincere

I Need a Lover (John Mellencamp cover)

My Clone Sleeps Alone

In the Heat of the Night (Smokie cover)

We Live for Love

No You Don't (Sweet cover)

Just Like Me (The Wilde Knights cover)

Heartbreaker (Jenny Darren cover)

You Better Run (Rascals cover)

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