Benatar Rocks to Civic Upbeat After 3 Years Off Circuit

It looks like Pat Benatar has once and for all traded in her spandexed tough chick/sex kitten image for the role of concerned mom preaching peace and togetherness. But that doesn’t mean she’s quit rockin’ after nearly three years off the circuit.

Fronting a tight band led by her guitarist hubby Neil Gerlado--who hasn’t traded in his tattooed tough-guy persona--Benatar rocked pretty steady Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre to kick off a two-night stand. By concentrating on upbeat (if generic and overblown) numbers that stretched from 1979’s “Heartbreaker” to selections from her new album, “Wide Awake in Dreamland,” Benatar lent some teeth to such pleas to her fans as to be involved in the democratic process and to support relief efforts for the Armenian earthquake.

Further illustration of her transformation into a mature (if not really essential) artist: When Geraldo joked around with chords from Benatar’s one-time sex kitten signature song, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” Benatar rebuffed her mate by making a “back off” cross with her fingers before leading the band through an feisty encore of the new jungle blues, “Let’s Stay Together”--easily the best song of her career.

The show was opened by the young Detroit quartet Rhythm Corps, a likable, idealistic and earnest rock band that believes in the inspirational (a la U2) magic and power of rock ‘n’ roll, but hasn’t completely tapped into it yet. But its ability to rouse the crowd makes it a band that might bear keeping an eye on.