NROP: Give it your best shot.

Pat Banatar – “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”

Sometimes you just need an uplifting song. One that will make you get up and get ready for battle. Pat Banatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” is one of those for me (another one is Volbeat’s “Warrior Call”). It reminds me how strong I am and that I am ready to take on whatever comes my way.

However, I have never felt bulletproof after listening to that song. Why would I? Am I not making sense to you? Well, hang on – I’m making a point.

Let’s talk about concerts for a moment.

When I go to a concert, it is usually when I REALLY like the artist(s). There is no point in spending money to go through such a crowded situation with waaaaay overpriced drinks/ snacks/ merch if you are not into the singer/ band. Just like the performer – I, too, prepare for the concert. Depending on the size of the discography and my familiarity with it, I spend days or even weeks listening to the songs to make sure that I know most (if not all) of the songs by heart. Even though it does not happen often, I don’t want the artist to point the mic at me and me go *mimes that my jaw is wired shut, and I can’t sing even though I was just drinking and talking to my companion a minute ago.* Plus, it puts me more “in the zone” when a song is familiar to me. Otherwise, I just stand there, waiting for the one I know.

But, even though I end up knowing most/ all of the songs, there are still some that I do not mind skipping, while others – I can’t wait to be sung. Don’t we all go to a concert to hear a select few (or sometimes maybe even just one)? Some songs are more popular than others, and the singer knows it, too. They build up to their biggest hit, and the crowd goes wild. The energy at that moment should be bottled. I bet it could move mountains.

Concerts are definitely an experience. When possible, I like to get general admission tickets because – if I’m early and crafty enough – I might snag a spot in one of the first rows. This means that I have to arrive early at the venue before it even opens. Sometimes it’s in the dead of summer. Been there, done that. It can be fun getting to know the people in line with you. (I’m a bit surprised to say that, but it’s true. If you hit it off, you hit it off. You’ve got AT LEAST one thing in common, which is a great conversation starter. Otherwise, you just turn your back and get back into your own world. No pressure.) Then, once the gates open, there is this mad run that you have to undertake. Hopefully, the venue is easy to navigate, and you don’t run towards the bathroom or another gate instead of towards the pit/ stage.

Once you have claimed your spot, be sure to do whatever it takes to make as much room around you as you can. (In the beginning, people don’t necessarily care if you are standing up, or laying down spread eagle, so use this to your advantage (just be careful because people don’t look where they walk, so put some warning cones around you as you rest). You will need as much space as you can get when the concerts start and the crowds flood in. Stand your ground. Otherwise, you might find yourself in the back of the room by the end of the concert. IF you choose to go to the bathroom, do so during a popular song – there will be less of a wait then. If you’re in the general admission pit, you better bring a diaper or two because there is no way you are getting back to your spot.

And, once the concert is done, you have to exit the venue with thousands of others. Yea, that’s not fun. Some people leave before the last song to avoid the crowds. I’ve done that before. But what if the last song is the one you’ve been waiting for? Will it be OK to hear it from outside of the venue? You have to make that individual decision. Then, it’s a question of transportation. The cabs will probably all be taken, public transportation stuck in traffic, and your car blocked in a line of thousands of cars… Maybe park somewhere else?

While there can be a lot of pleasant experiences before the concert (the hype and the potential of meeting new people) and after it (even more of a hype!), it is the concert itself that holds the most weight when rating your experience.

Did the artist connect with the audience, or did they just sing their songs?

Did they open up with a song that set the tone and got everyone riled up?

Did they close with an appropriate song? (Concerts need to have bookends)

Did they come out for an encore?

Did they sing all the songs you wanted to hear?

Did they sing THE song?

All of these things matter. We can go home and play any song we have on cassette on our stereo. We can pull out our phones and play any song we want, but that is not the point. Seeing the artists and hearing them at the same time is a whole other experience. Bonus points if they talk to “us.” Now, we feel like we are friends. We “hung out” together, after all. Right? We made eye contact. It might as well have been a private concert.

Now, imagine going to a concert and not hearing the one song you and everyone else came to hear.

Pat Banatar took “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” off the list of songs that she performs. Why? She did so due to some of the mass shootings which we’ve recently all heard about. I have so many questions. “Why now? What is it going to change?” are the main ones.

While the song boosts my confidence, and I might feel figuratively invincible, I definitely do not feel literally bulletproof and would not want anyone testing that. It doesn’t make me want to test other people, either.

I can’t help but sigh at things that don’t make all that much sense to me.

As I wrote this post, I thought of song lyrics in general and how there are so many wrong things said in those… I’ve heard young kids sing (or should I say rap?) terrifying songs only to be told that they just like the beat, or the artist, but the words aren’t “for real.” Now, if I don’t like a song, I just won’t listen to it. I won’t ask for it to be banned or whatnot. However, I think there are MUCH worse songs that could be taken off setlists than “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”

What annoyed me the most was Pat’s reaction to the fan’s outcry. She said that if people really wanted to hear that song, they could just play it for themselves at home. … ??? … ??? Does she not know how concerts are different from a playlist at home? If so, then why has she been touring? People can just stream her songs from the comfort of their own homes.

You control the songs you sing. I understand that. Just say that you don’t want to do that particular song, and that’s that. Don’t go telling people that they can just “play it for themselves.” That’s just rude and ignorant.

• Do you like “Hit Me With Your Best Shot?”
• What’s your battle song?
• Do you attend concerts often?
• Have you made friends at a concert before?
• What would you do if you had tickets for a concert and then found out that the artist would not sing their hit song?
• Why do you think Pat Banatar pulled that song?

Stay golden,

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