pooldude
Older than Dirt
We went to the Universal Studios Gibson Ampitheatre in LA on Saturday night May 21 to see the Road-Rage 2006 Blondie / New Cars tour.
Blondie features original members Deborah, gtrst Chris Stein, & long time drummer Clem Burke, with a new bassist, 2nd guitarist, & keyboardist, who all appeared to be 30ish in age, & were very decent players.
The most striking thing about the band in 2006 is that Deborah Harry definitely looks & sounded old. She has become such an Icon on MTV, with all the glamorous but punky videos that made the band famous…that it’s somewhat of a shock to see her come out on stage looking like a Grandma on her way to go shopping @ Walmart. It’s not that she got fat, as much as she got wider, & honestly dressed rather frumpily for such a high profile gig.
Most of us don’t realize that Debbie Harry was in her mid 30’s when she 1st came out, & that she will be 61 in July, born in 1945.
While never really a powerhouse vocalist even in her prime, Debbie’s voice has now dropped down in range substantially, & I got the feeling that many of her songs have possibly been transposed to lower keys. On songs with backup vocals, she always took the lowest part, with the 3 new guys singing all the high parts.
Debbie still holds a tune pretty well, & the band played with an impressive energy, primarily fueled by Powerhouse Drummer Clem Burke. He may have added a few pounds to his gut, but Burke was absolutely excellent all night, playing with flair & showmanship that rivals Tommy Lee. Burke bounces sticks off his heads, twirling 6-8 feet up into the air, & catches them without missing a beat. He plays like a punk rock Keith Moon, with lots of dynamic tom tom rolls, & ended many of the hit songs with dynamic mini drum solos. I really loved his playing.
Surprisingly, gtrst Chris Stein played a lot of extended Hendrix style leads that were quite strong. I had never realized that he was more than just an 8th note rhythm guitarist. He traded off quite a bit with the new, younger guy.
While Blondie will never be remembered for Epic Songs, their show is actually quite fun, & full of very melodic pop songs with danceable grooves, that kept the crowd standing for much of the opening set. I really enjoyed the entire show, with standout songs being a great cover of “More Than This” by Roxy Music, their newer song “Maria” & "Atomic" & “Dreaming” & an extended version of “Rapture”.
My wife was yanking on me to stand up & dance with her during “Rapture”…but I told her I’m not dancing unless they get Jim Morrison to come out & sing “Riders” in between Debbie’s rap. Jim never did make his appearence.
The New Cars came on after a very short changeover. They had a very futuristic stage set up with large spheres for videos, as well as metallic spheres around the risers of drummer Prairie Prince & synth player Greg Hawkes. All the guys were dressed in classy rock star style suits with polka dots & checkerboards & just a whole other level of professionalism from Blondie’s punkier jeans & tennis shoes.
The moment they cranked into the 1st song, it was clear that their musical chops were in another league, as well.
Click to hear the New Cars live version of “Let the Good Times Roll”
http://classicrock.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.flashenhanced.com/carsblondie/
New lead vocalist Todd Rundgren was awesome, with a lot more range & suppleness than Ric Ocasek ever had, while still respecting the original songs’ intent.
Rundgren played extensive dual lead guitar lines with original member Elliott Easton, who looked like John Lennon’s twin with Sgt Pepper era sideburns & haircut & granny sunglasses. In fact they all wore granny glasses, except for former Utopia bassist Kasim.
For those who think the Cars can’t exist without Ocasek, I can only tell you that Rundgren is leading a band that is musically stronger than the original band ever was, & they played a couple of fantastic prog / fusion Utopia songs that rivaled Frank Zappa in complexity & dynamics, with absolutely blazing guitar soloing from Rundgren, that brought the house down.
They also played Rundgren’s old hits “I Saw the Light” & “Open My Eyes” from his days in the Nazz, as well as “Bang the Drum”. Every song was met with tumultuous ovations by the crowd.
Silver-haired analog synthesizer player Gregg Hawkes was a real standout all night. He doesn’t play anything that complicated, but his parts were loud, atmospheric, & very prominent in the mix, especially on songs like “Moving in Stereo” & “Bye Bye Love” & “Just What I Needed”.
Elliott Easton is a masterful guitarist with a very melodic touch; bassist Kasim is flawless, & former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, who looks like actor Robert Mitchum, is a very entertaining pro thumper.
The band pulls off all their own backing vocals with no sidemen or pre-recorded parts; there were no skipped words, or flubbed vocal lines. The new single “Not Tonite” continues the string of hit songs that form the basis of one of the best groups that came out of the late ‘70s.
Anybody who tells you the band sucks & isn’t worth seeing doesn’t know what they are talking about. This was one of the best hard rock musical performances I have seen & heard in years, & I highly recommend checking out the New Cars if you get the chance.
I think these guys may just pull off kicking this band to a higher level. They are extremely Heavy, & they are Pro. I give them 2 enthusiastic thumbs up.
Blondie features original members Deborah, gtrst Chris Stein, & long time drummer Clem Burke, with a new bassist, 2nd guitarist, & keyboardist, who all appeared to be 30ish in age, & were very decent players.
The most striking thing about the band in 2006 is that Deborah Harry definitely looks & sounded old. She has become such an Icon on MTV, with all the glamorous but punky videos that made the band famous…that it’s somewhat of a shock to see her come out on stage looking like a Grandma on her way to go shopping @ Walmart. It’s not that she got fat, as much as she got wider, & honestly dressed rather frumpily for such a high profile gig.
Most of us don’t realize that Debbie Harry was in her mid 30’s when she 1st came out, & that she will be 61 in July, born in 1945.
While never really a powerhouse vocalist even in her prime, Debbie’s voice has now dropped down in range substantially, & I got the feeling that many of her songs have possibly been transposed to lower keys. On songs with backup vocals, she always took the lowest part, with the 3 new guys singing all the high parts.
Debbie still holds a tune pretty well, & the band played with an impressive energy, primarily fueled by Powerhouse Drummer Clem Burke. He may have added a few pounds to his gut, but Burke was absolutely excellent all night, playing with flair & showmanship that rivals Tommy Lee. Burke bounces sticks off his heads, twirling 6-8 feet up into the air, & catches them without missing a beat. He plays like a punk rock Keith Moon, with lots of dynamic tom tom rolls, & ended many of the hit songs with dynamic mini drum solos. I really loved his playing.
Surprisingly, gtrst Chris Stein played a lot of extended Hendrix style leads that were quite strong. I had never realized that he was more than just an 8th note rhythm guitarist. He traded off quite a bit with the new, younger guy.
While Blondie will never be remembered for Epic Songs, their show is actually quite fun, & full of very melodic pop songs with danceable grooves, that kept the crowd standing for much of the opening set. I really enjoyed the entire show, with standout songs being a great cover of “More Than This” by Roxy Music, their newer song “Maria” & "Atomic" & “Dreaming” & an extended version of “Rapture”.
My wife was yanking on me to stand up & dance with her during “Rapture”…but I told her I’m not dancing unless they get Jim Morrison to come out & sing “Riders” in between Debbie’s rap. Jim never did make his appearence.
The New Cars came on after a very short changeover. They had a very futuristic stage set up with large spheres for videos, as well as metallic spheres around the risers of drummer Prairie Prince & synth player Greg Hawkes. All the guys were dressed in classy rock star style suits with polka dots & checkerboards & just a whole other level of professionalism from Blondie’s punkier jeans & tennis shoes.
The moment they cranked into the 1st song, it was clear that their musical chops were in another league, as well.
Click to hear the New Cars live version of “Let the Good Times Roll”
http://classicrock.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.flashenhanced.com/carsblondie/
New lead vocalist Todd Rundgren was awesome, with a lot more range & suppleness than Ric Ocasek ever had, while still respecting the original songs’ intent.
Rundgren played extensive dual lead guitar lines with original member Elliott Easton, who looked like John Lennon’s twin with Sgt Pepper era sideburns & haircut & granny sunglasses. In fact they all wore granny glasses, except for former Utopia bassist Kasim.
For those who think the Cars can’t exist without Ocasek, I can only tell you that Rundgren is leading a band that is musically stronger than the original band ever was, & they played a couple of fantastic prog / fusion Utopia songs that rivaled Frank Zappa in complexity & dynamics, with absolutely blazing guitar soloing from Rundgren, that brought the house down.
They also played Rundgren’s old hits “I Saw the Light” & “Open My Eyes” from his days in the Nazz, as well as “Bang the Drum”. Every song was met with tumultuous ovations by the crowd.
Silver-haired analog synthesizer player Gregg Hawkes was a real standout all night. He doesn’t play anything that complicated, but his parts were loud, atmospheric, & very prominent in the mix, especially on songs like “Moving in Stereo” & “Bye Bye Love” & “Just What I Needed”.
Elliott Easton is a masterful guitarist with a very melodic touch; bassist Kasim is flawless, & former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, who looks like actor Robert Mitchum, is a very entertaining pro thumper.
The band pulls off all their own backing vocals with no sidemen or pre-recorded parts; there were no skipped words, or flubbed vocal lines. The new single “Not Tonite” continues the string of hit songs that form the basis of one of the best groups that came out of the late ‘70s.
Anybody who tells you the band sucks & isn’t worth seeing doesn’t know what they are talking about. This was one of the best hard rock musical performances I have seen & heard in years, & I highly recommend checking out the New Cars if you get the chance.
I think these guys may just pull off kicking this band to a higher level. They are extremely Heavy, & they are Pro. I give them 2 enthusiastic thumbs up.
