Blondie – Nico Vega – at Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA

If you were in downtown LA Wednesday night and not at Club Nokia witnessing the queen of new wave doing her thing like only she can, then I pity you for missing Octobers first must see concert of the month. The one and only Blondie rolled into town on perhaps the rainiest day of the year only to lift the spirits of the capacity crowd of over 1,000 fans who crammed into every space and seat available within the club.

Set opener “Union City Blue” rocked the already pumped and energetic crowd who were looking to dance the night away to Blondie hits, and the hits are exactly what they got. It wasn’t long till new cuts off Panic Of Girls (Blondie’s new album) found their way into the dance-floor friendly set. The new singles seemed to fit in perfect with the classics as the energy transfer from band to fans maintained throughout the hour plus set. Debbie even dedicated the show to the memory of Steve Jobs who passed away earlier in the day, a bouquet of flowers found their way on stage as well, it was a sentimental moment.

Something that should be noted is how well the band who are mostly in their mid to late 50’s and early 60’s play. Drummer Clem Burke (also known as Elvis Ramone too many in the punk scene) pounded on his drums in a way that was neither too showy nor typical in the least, the backbeat was kept and boy did it sound great. Guitarists Chris Stein and Tommy Kessler held down their duties on rhythm and lead like it was nobodies business handling every lick and note with ease and perfection. All you 80’s purists fear not as the mix was heavy on synth and complete with a key tar solo. The talented bunch managed to throw in a cover of the Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right To Party at the tail end of Rapture which of course included Debbie’s rap; during her improvisation she threw in the line “Do the punk rock” which went over well with the mostly older and alternative looking crowd.

 

It’s anyone’s guess how she manages to do it, but no one would ever suspect that Debbie is in her mid 60’s; she looks and sounds great and works the stage like the superstar that she is and has been since the late 1970’s, the woman’s still got it! It was towards the end of their set that the band brought out the big guns and hit the crowd with classic cut after cut. The chart smashing singles of years past rocked the crowd like no other and without sounding ridiculous the band threw in another cover, this time being ZZ Top’s Sharp Dressed Man. Blondie was on fire! The nights closer and perhaps her most well known track Heart Of Glass saw the crowd dancing along with her as she moved on stage before waving goodbye and thanking the audience for being tremendous, Blondie loves Los Angeles and Los Angeles sure loves Debbie, Chris and Clem back just the same. Blondie remains a must see show even after 35 plus years as a band, all in attendance were well aware of that, though for you unfortunate souls who missed out - make sure you get tickets next time she rolls through town.

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter







 

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