With the aromatic smells of popcorn and funnel cake drifting through the air and up into the grandstands, the crowd began to take their seats.
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo took the stage for the Los Angeles County Fair’s End of Summer Concert Series on Sunday, doing last minute checks while fans sat patiently.
With the lights from the Ferris wheel flashing in the distance and event staff armed with flashlights to point fairgoers to their seats, the anticipation intensified.
The event announcer took the stage and began to pump the crowd up.
After a short thank you to the crowd for keeping rock music alive, he left the stage. Out walked Benatar.
Screaming fans were on their feet, young and old together in the grandstands enjoying the same music.
Shouts of “I love you, Pat” resonated throughout the crowd.
“We are here to have a good time,” Benatar said from the stage.
“I hope you all are here to do the same,” she added.
The band played a set of 12 songs to an extremely appreciative crowd. As the show progressed, the energy level of the crowd and the band members amplified.
“This is the part where you put your hands together and put your groove shoes on,” Benatar said.
By the fifth song in the set people had lost their inhibitions and had began to dance and sing.
Men played air guitar and women swiveled and dipped to the beat of the drum.
High fives were exchanged between Benatar fans at the beginning of each song.
The show was extremely successful.
Hits like “Heartbreaker” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” were by far Benatar’s best performances.
Not only did Benatar and the band have more energy when they played these well known singles but the crowd fed off their energy throughout the songs, bringing the concert to a whole new level.
Benatar finished her set with a bang.
The song “Love is a Battlefield” had the crowd on its feet.
Everyone left with an extra bounce in his or her step at the show’s end.
Diane Hansen, a visitor from Las Vegas, was very passionate about Benatar’s music.
She knew each song and sang along with Benatar until she was red in the face.
“I’m her biggest fan for life,” Hansen said. “Her songs mean so much to me.”
Pam Stone, a local from Covina, was excited to see Benatar as well.
“I was in the seventh and eighth grade when she was popular,” Stone said. “I grew up with her music; it was a good concert.”
The concert went off without a hitch.
Speakers and amplifiers sounded clean and the video feed to the big screens was perfect.
It was an amazing venue for a concert.
The speakers work so well that University of La Verne Oaks residents get the treat of hearing different performers at the concert series every weekend.
“I could hear Pat Benatar from my room and it brought tears to my eyes,” said Jessica Bercaw, a sophomore biology major from Las Vegas. “I love her.”
Classic rockers Creedence Clearwater Revisited perform today at 8 p.m. Country star LeAnn Rimes will hold the venue tomorrow and Mariachi USA will return to the fair Sunday.
“I’m coming back next Sunday,” Gabriel Valedez, La Verne resident, said after the Benatar concert.
“This concert was good but the mariachis are my favorite,” she added.
The fair offers an assortment of activities and sights to please everyone’s tastes.
Between performers, food and games everyone can find something that tickles his or her fancy.
The fair closes Sunday, Oct. 1 with a performance by disco star Donna Summers.
Jillian Peña can be reached at jpena2@ulv.edu.
