It's been 30 years since "Heartbreaker" came out and Pat Benatar still hit us with her best shot at Hard Rock Live last night

We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong...Pat Benatar was right. Love truly is a battlefield. (Credit: Joanie Cox)

While I was a little disappointed Pat Benatar didn't don a braided headband or leggings last night, it was a relief to see the 56-year-old rocker can still hit the screaming high notes in her hits such as "Promises In The Dark" and "We Belong." Benatar took the stage at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Thursday, July 2 at 8 p.m., on the dot. Most bands at Hard Rock typically go on 15 minutes late, but Benatar and her longtime husband/guitar player Neil Giraldo were anxious to lay down their endless string of hits on the crowd.

While Benatar squeezed in a few obscure tunes, she did a gravelly, showstopping rendition of John Mellencamp's "I Need a Lover," which appeared on her debut album, In the Heat of the Night. Benatar said she's performing different songs in every city attempting to cover all the material of her career. She reminisced about being on tour in Oklahoma in 1981 and getting a call from a brand new network that was starting up called...MTV. She performed a pitch-perfect version of "You Better Run" last night, which was the second video ever aired on MTV after The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star."

Doing air guitar moves and still working every corner of the stage, Benatar blasted the crowd with the tunes they had come for toward the end of the night. After "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Love Is a Battlefield," and "Heartbreaker," which Giraldo cleverly followed up with a guitar solo of "Speak Softly Love" from The Godfather, the riled up audience seemed sweaty and satisfied.

— Joanie Cox