I love living in a city. I love living in a major US city that generally appears on every major tour roster. It's pretty sweet.
This last month alone, I've seen three artists I've been in love with for at least a decade, one why-not-I'm-sure-it-be-awesome (and it was) show, and missed one that I'm sure would have been amazing. This never would have happened if I had stayed in my area of Pennsylvania. There's a reason it's nicknamed Pennsyltucky.
The first big show I saw this month I grew up thinking I'd never get to see. I'm a pretty big fan of the 80's. I always half joke that if I was only allowed to listen to the top hits of one decade, it'd be the 80's. For me, it was an absolute no brainer that I'd be going to see Blondie as soon as I heard they'd be in town.
Well worth it. I went with two good friends of mine, and wow. It was my second time at the Warfield, which is a former theatre converted into a music hall, and it has general admission/standing room only on the bottom, and three tiers of balcony. I tend to go for the balcony seating because I'm not the tallest person around and I have a bum knee. I've lucked out and generally get mid balcony seating, and 3 out of 4 times I was right in the center of the stage as well.
The line seemed really long the first time I got into it, but it moved pretty briskly. One of my friends ran late, and since I was the one with the tickets and there was no re-admittance, I left the line and hung around a sketchy part of Market Street for about 30 minutes. It's not too bad of an area, but it smells, there's some sort of dice game going every couple of feet, a lot of scalpers and a stench that's fairly unpleasant. Still, far better than the Tenderloin.
I never really got into DEVO beyond occasionally listens to "Whip It" but, boy oh boy did they put on a show. They all seem to have more energy than I do at any given time. They ran around stage, jumped around stage, ripped off at least two costumes and had a mid-show intermission for a costume change. They still sound awesome. I'm not a converted fan, but I wouldn't turn down another opportunity to see them.
Bonus of seeing them - finally figured out where the song my dad used to sing to my brother came from.
Blondie. Oh my god. I saw Blondie in concert. I don't know how to properly convey how blown my mind is by this fact. I think there only two or three 80's acts that could possibly blow my mind more. Fleetwood Mac, the Eurythmics and Kate Bush. Kate Bush has only ever done one tour, so I'm pretty sure that's guaranteed, however, there's still a small chance I could see the other two at some point.
I saw Blondie. Deborah Harry still rocks. She can still sing. She didn't move around as much as the guys from DEVO, but she was also wearing huge wedge shoes so, y'know.
The only song they didn't play that I love was Denis. BUT THEY PLAYED "HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE" AND "RAPTURE" and I really don't care about anything else right now. I have seen nearly all of my favorite artists and songs live now. I'm still processing this. I don't have a lot left on my must see list of concerts. I'm starting to repeat, and don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but I never thought I'd get to this point.
The light show and multimedia part of both shows were great, there were a lot of clips (I love that DEVO played the video for "Whip It" while playing it live) that were off the wall, but they totally worked for the bands. DEVO's were a bit more out there, but I liked the Blondie's clips better. May have been the dancers.
They both still have it though. I tend to get to shows when the doors open, even if I have assigned seating. I'm not really sure why, I think it has something to do with my dad freaking out if we weren't fifteen minutes early to Everything, Ever. The place was packed. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that both bands were pretty big in their day, cause usually when I go to a show, people show up pretty late. (Although this was also not the case for the Amanda Palmer show I went to.)
The sound was pretty spot on, I could have done with a bit more emphasis for the vocals, but I almost always say that. OH, and when Debbie Harry struck her poses during "Rapture," OH. Oh my. And their cover of "Lights" by Ellie Goulding? Totally awesome. I actually prefer it. I hope no one murders me for that.
I would absolutely, without a doubt go see these guys again. I don't know if the chance to see Blondie will ever come around again, and I am so cuss-wording glad I went. I saw Blondie.
What else could be better?
Maybe seeing Fiona Apple in the same theatre the next night? Maybe. Maybe.
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