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Blondie at Summerfest
Jun. 30th, 2008 01:34 amSaturday night I went to Summerfest with Catherine and my mom to see Blondie. We decided to get there a few hours early, so we ended up seeing most of The Old 97’s set as well. My tattoo artist is a big fan of theirs, and I’ve heard one or two of their songs, so I thought they’d be worth checking out. They would have been a little more exciting if they were more rockabilly and less indie. This further proves my theory that modern American indie is much more boring than European – especially British – indie rock. I believe they did a cover of “Owner of a Lonely Heart” (or at least randomly decided to play a couple bars of it) and that couldn’t even spice up their set list. My mother, who is one of the least critical people I know, also agreed that every song sounded the same. At least they were listen-able and the only halfway-decent band playing at the time. We tried wasting time beforehand at the marketplace, but most of the shops were sketchy handwriting analysis, fortune telling, henna tattoo, water bong and Grateful Dead t-shirt places, not to mention the Rhinestone Cowgirl.
We left 45 minutes into The Old 97’s set so we would be an hour early for Blondie in hopes of having a good seat. We ended up ten rows back and in the center, so I was actually able to take some good photos. I still don’t understand how that night John Mellencamp was booked for the Amphitheater while Blondie was on a side-stage. Although they’re quite old, they are by no means washed up and irrelevant. It was the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines so they started by playing the entire album. After that they played several more hits. There was black and white striped background, Debbie Harry wore a striped dress, and their keyboardist was wearing striped pants in honor of the anniversary. Everyone looked very mod and amazing overall. I knew this performance would be good simply because Blondie are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends, but it really exceeded my expectations. Debbie Harry’s voice is still flawless; she’s still a total badass, throwing shoes, cursing and dancing around like a maniac at 63, and all the other musicians, original members and otherwise, sounded incredible. I was disappointed no one around me was dancing, singing along, or shouting. I know most of the people were middle-aged, but they were still younger than Harry, so there’s no excuse for just standing there, being annoyed that everyone jumped on the benches so they couldn’t see. The rest of the details can be seen in the photos, so I can stop raving for the time being. But in all seriousness, this concert is definitely in the top three of all time that I’ve seen.
( The rest of the photos + set list )
The next time I’ll be down there will be for another two legendary bands – The Police and Elvis Costello and the Impostors. I feel very fortunate that I’ll be able to see them on their last tour. Unfortunately, I have to work late on July 1st so I won’t be able to see pat mAcdonald and melaniejane nor Zappa Plays Zappa. The rest of the bands playing aren’t worth seeing in my opinion. Although Summerfest lasts for 11 days, it still doesn’t have anything on Coachella, Lollapalloza, or any of the European festivals. I wanted to see Rush, but I had to work and I’m not in any position to be shelling out a bunch of money for another arena show.
Everything else about the festival was typical, and I know a lot of it has to do with whoever’s headlining that night. There was a bunch of people from Illinois and Minnesota there (and unfortunately a lot of Illinois drivers on the road too). Lots of big, sweaty, sunburnt drunk white people with bad tattoos and hippie stoners. While we were waiting for Blondie, this nasty girl in front of me was shaking her ass to some awful ‘80s cover band and she ended up falling off the bench and landing right on said ass. Parking was a nightmare, and it took us half an hour to get out of the lot. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that next year’s line-up will be a bit better and more eclectic.
We left 45 minutes into The Old 97’s set so we would be an hour early for Blondie in hopes of having a good seat. We ended up ten rows back and in the center, so I was actually able to take some good photos. I still don’t understand how that night John Mellencamp was booked for the Amphitheater while Blondie was on a side-stage. Although they’re quite old, they are by no means washed up and irrelevant. It was the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines so they started by playing the entire album. After that they played several more hits. There was black and white striped background, Debbie Harry wore a striped dress, and their keyboardist was wearing striped pants in honor of the anniversary. Everyone looked very mod and amazing overall. I knew this performance would be good simply because Blondie are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends, but it really exceeded my expectations. Debbie Harry’s voice is still flawless; she’s still a total badass, throwing shoes, cursing and dancing around like a maniac at 63, and all the other musicians, original members and otherwise, sounded incredible. I was disappointed no one around me was dancing, singing along, or shouting. I know most of the people were middle-aged, but they were still younger than Harry, so there’s no excuse for just standing there, being annoyed that everyone jumped on the benches so they couldn’t see. The rest of the details can be seen in the photos, so I can stop raving for the time being. But in all seriousness, this concert is definitely in the top three of all time that I’ve seen.
( The rest of the photos + set list )
The next time I’ll be down there will be for another two legendary bands – The Police and Elvis Costello and the Impostors. I feel very fortunate that I’ll be able to see them on their last tour. Unfortunately, I have to work late on July 1st so I won’t be able to see pat mAcdonald and melaniejane nor Zappa Plays Zappa. The rest of the bands playing aren’t worth seeing in my opinion. Although Summerfest lasts for 11 days, it still doesn’t have anything on Coachella, Lollapalloza, or any of the European festivals. I wanted to see Rush, but I had to work and I’m not in any position to be shelling out a bunch of money for another arena show.
Everything else about the festival was typical, and I know a lot of it has to do with whoever’s headlining that night. There was a bunch of people from Illinois and Minnesota there (and unfortunately a lot of Illinois drivers on the road too). Lots of big, sweaty, sunburnt drunk white people with bad tattoos and hippie stoners. While we were waiting for Blondie, this nasty girl in front of me was shaking her ass to some awful ‘80s cover band and she ended up falling off the bench and landing right on said ass. Parking was a nightmare, and it took us half an hour to get out of the lot. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that next year’s line-up will be a bit better and more eclectic.
