Rock and roll is alive and well at the Uptown Theatre in downtown Napa. Musicians Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo rocked Uptown Theatre taking listeners on a musical journey that launched in 1979 (the year my husband and I graduated high school) and continues today. The hipster baby boomers have traveled together on the road for 35 years and celebrate this June with their 35 year anniversary tour.
Baby Boomers Travel
The married musicians poked fun at themselves throughout the performance, noting that they were “old and married” but they could still rock the house at Uptown Theatre in downtown Napa.
In a previous interview the couple said they never get tired of performing live in concert, “it’s the travel that gets us tired,” noted Benatar.
Guitarist Neil Giraldo sipped on water, from a red plastic solo cup, between music sets of “Promises in the Dark” “Hell is for Children” a powerful song about child abuse, “Love is a Battlefield” and “We Belong,” among other classic music hits.
Baby Boomers Rock
As Pat Benatar belted out “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” the baby boomer audience sang and swayed along from their plush seats at Uptown Theatre. I had heard that “there isn’t a bad seat in the house” from Marketing Manager Shelby French, but I had to see it for myself to believe it. The historic Uptown Theatre is a lovely theater for musicians to perform in, with an intimate 800 seats and fantastic acoustics, as well as the beautiful, hand-painted art-deco style ceiling.
Discovering downtown Napa
Before the 8:00 p.m. show, my husband and I decided to drive up from the East Bay and do Napa like a local. We picked up the downtown Napa wine tasting card from the Napa Valley Welcome Center on Main Street and proceeded to sip our way through downtown Napa.
With over 24 wine tasting rooms to choose from and 65 restaurants, downtown Napa is a very walkable city. We sampled wine from many places and then moved onto the Oxbow Public Market for a light dinner at Kitchen Door. I love their deviled egg salad and mushroom soup! All in all, a very enjoyable evening was had in downtown Napa. Rock on Pat Benatar!
Insider Tip
The warm up act was a talented young bay area musician named Roem Baur. His band that night was his electric guitar and a tambourine strapped around his ankle. This guy has quite the set of pipes and got the crowd fired up. My personal favorite, “Natural Disaster.” Expect to hear more good things from Roem Baur. For additional insider tips follow Luxury Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown on Twitter @nancydbrown and @TheUptownNapa on Twitter for upcoming concert information.
If You Go:
Uptown Theatre (707) 259-0123
1350 Third St.
Napa, California 94559
Article and photos by Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown. Publicity photo of Neil Giraldo and Pat Benatar supplied. I was a guest of Uptown Theatre for review purposes. All opinions are my own.