Pictures of the show at the Fillmore in San Francisco last night can be found on gettyimages.com. A review has been posted on contracostatimes.com.
Review: Deborah Harry reigns supreme at Blondie’s San Francisco show
By Jim Harrington
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 02/26/2009 10:13:45 AM PST
Updated: 02/26/2009 11:32:39 AM PST
My recent encounters with Deborah Harry, watching her perform both solo shows and with the band Blondie, didn’t prepare me for how great she’d be at the Fillmore.
Others in attendance Wednesday night shared similar sentiments: She sounded and looked terrific.
I don’t pretend to know what’s going on in the 63-year-old singer’s personal life, but, whatever it is, she should definitely keep it up. At the Fillmore, she looked, sounded and performed better than at any in my history of watching the vocalist, which dates back to the mid-’80s. The only time I’ve seen her as strong was in Blondie videos, filmed some 30 years ago.
Toss in the top-notch performances by the rest of her six-piece band, which still includes original members Clem Burke on drums and Chris Stein on guitar, and you had a night that seemed to completely justify the band’s 2006 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Harry looked trim and pretty as she appeared wearing a short zebra-patterned dress, stalking about in high heels in front of black-and-white-stripped stage that perfectly matched her outfit. The group opened the 80-minute set by roaring through “Hanging On the Telephone,” one of many tracks performed from the 1978 breakthrough album “Parallel Lines.”
Most of the best-received numbers, tunes such as “Heart of Glass” and “One Way or Another,” were released in the ’70s, yet, amazingly enough, the evening didn’t feel like a simple nostalgia show.
To the contrary, many of the songs sounded as fresh and modern as anything that fans will hear being played during this week’s trendy Noise Pop festival in San Francisco.
That just shows how far ahead of the game Blondie was in the ’70s. The band’s peers on the New York City new wave/punk scene might’ve once scoffed at the fashion in which Blondie mixed dance music, punk rock, radio pop, reggae and, even, hip-hop in mainstream-friendly ways, but it’s paid off to the tune of 30 million records sold worldwide.
More strikingly, it’s continuing to pay off. Blondie performed its songs at a breakneck punk clip, punching out most offerings at right around three minutes. But what was most impressive was how well the eclectic mix of sounds jelled. That’s because the band gives each song a highly distinctive musical stamp, a kind of glamorous gloss that might not work for any other lead singer.
Harry was astoundingly energetic throughout the night, jumping about on her tall heels during “Call Me” and commanding the microphone with “Rapture.” The latter, the tune that introduced millions to rap-sung lyrics, was a particular pleasure as Harry and the sold-out crowd shared the still-fun lead vocals.
The band ended the show with a surprise cover of the Beatles’ “Please Please Me,” which was performed as a nod to George Harrison’s birthday (the “Quiet Beatle” would’ve been 66 on Wednesday).
Blondie certainly pleased its Bay Area fans on this night. If you missed the show, the band might be back in the near future. This rejuvenated Blondie is reportedly recording a new album, which could hit stores as soon as spring. Before Wednesday, that bit of news didn’t have me excited—but, having seen the Fillmore gig, I can’t wait to hear the disc.
