Women Rock

Abravanel Hall was rocking last night as the Utah Symphony was joined by vocalists Cassidy Catanzaro, Katrina Rose, and Shayna Steele to pay tribute to the powerful female singers and songwriters who influenced rock and roll.  I have been looking forward to this concert for a long time and it was even better than I hoped it would be!  Katrina Rose come on stage first to perform the Janis Joplin classic "Piece of My Heart" and she set the tone for the rest of the concert with an exuberant performance that got the crowd going!  Next on stage was Shayna Steele who performed "Dancing in the Streets" by Martha & The Vandellas with a lot of soul.  Then Cassidy Catanzaro performed a lovely rendition of Carole King's "So Far Away" and she sounded so much like her.  Rose continued with "What a Feeling" from the movie Flashdance, followed by Catanzaro singing "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell, and then Steele singing her version of Aretha Franklin's "Freeway of Love."  One of my favorite songs by James Taylor is "Up on the Roof," which was written by Carole King, and Catanzaro's version rivaled his!  A highlight of this concert came next.  When I got to Abravanel Hall and looked at the program I just about lost my mind because I saw that they would be performing "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar!  I absolutely loved that song back in the day and I would watch MTV for hours just hoping to see the music video.  Rose performed it as a ballad and just about blew the roof off Abravanel Hall.  It gave me goosebumps!  All three vocalists took the stage to end the first act with a powerful version of King's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."  After the intermission, the orchestra played "Pick Up the Pieces" by Average White Band and the horn section was fantastic!  All three vocalists performed Joan Jett's classic "I Love Rock 'n Roll" which was a big hit with the audience.  Next came another highlight for me when Rose sang "These Dreams," which is one of my favorite Heart songs.  Steele sang a fantastic version of Tina Turner's "The Best" and then Catanzaro sang two more classics by Carole King:  "I Feel the Earth Move" and "You've Got a Friend."  Rose continued with "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar which featured another incredibly exuberant performance (I loved her).  Steele performed a sultry version of Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It" and then she was joined by Rose and Catanzaro for "Proud Mary" which was an epic way to end an amazing concert!  I loved every minute of it and I highly recommend getting a ticket to see this program tonight (go here).