Blondie Kicks Off First U.S. Tour In 16 Years In Boston

05/17/1999 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(5/17/99, 4 p.m. PDT) - New wave icon Blondie opened its first U.S. tour in 16 years with a sold-out show at the Orpheum Theater in Boston on Saturday (May 15).

During the set, the veteran band seemed as if it never broke up, with Debbie Harry strutting about confidently as she sang old and new numbers. Her entrance onstage behind a black baseball cap, sunglasses, and a black jacket made her almost unrecognizable, but she soon stripped down to a gold shirt and vinyl knee-length skirt with her bleached-blonde hair flowing as she shook her hips and flirted with audience members.

At one point, someone handed her a bouquet of roses. She removed a single rose, held it while she sang and then proceeded to bite off the bud and sprayed the petals, sparking some cheers.

Original members, guitarist Chris Stein, keyboardist Jimmy Destri, drummer Clem Burke, and Harry were joined by three touring musicians. Small pot bellies indicated that the members have aged over the years; but with their bleached hair, leather pants, and patterned silk shirts, the band glowed overall. Burke hit the skins high above the stage in a Plexiglas box. The other members in the band seemed to be having a great time jamming to old and new tunes.

The 75-minute set went without a hitch. "It's so nice to be back," Harry gushed in the middle of the set.

Here's Blondie's opening-night setlist: "Dreaming," "Hanging On The Telephone," "Screaming Skin," "Make Me Tonight," "Forgive And Forget," "Union City," "Sunday Girl," "Maria," "Call Me," "The Tide Is High," "In The Flesh," "Boom Boom In The Zoom Zoom Room," "Rapture," "One Way Or Another," and the encore, "Heart Of Glass."

To read a Blondie feature, click here.

-- Amy Steele, Boston

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