[Gig Review] Blondie @ Kenwood House, London, UK - June 26, 2010

[Corki]

Who: Blondie

Where: Kenwood House, London, UK

When: 26th June 2010

Guest artists: Big Fish

 

Setlist (I believe)

 

1. D Day

2. Hanging on the Telephone (The Nerves cover)

3. Love Doesn't Frighten

4. Two Times Blue

5. The End

6. Maria

7. What I Heard

8. Orchid

9. Atomic

10. The Tide Is High (The Paragons cover)

11. Rapture

12. Mother

13. Muse

14. Call Me

15. Too Hot

16. One Way or Another

Encore:

17. Picture this

18. Heartbreaker

19. Heart Of Glass

 

The Review

At 64, Debbie Harry put on one heck of a performance!

 

Every summer, up in North London, English Heritage opens up Kenwood House to a series of outdoor picnic concerts. This is the second year running that I have been. Last year, I went with my mum to see Ray Davies of The Kinks and the Crouch End Choir. Sadly, it was extremely wet and we got soaked. However, it didn’t stop my mum and I having a good time!

 

2010 saw another trip to Kenwood House for an outdoor concert. This time, Northie and my dad accompanied my mum and I. My dad is a big Blondie fan, and Debbie Harry is the only woman he would ever leave her for! So it took no convincing for him to come along! And the weather was fantastic! Lovely sunshine streaming down on a big field in a big house in the north of London – just perfect. Last year, my mum and I sat in deckchairs to enjoy the concert. Unfortunately, this year, we were didn’t have this, but Promenade seats, which meant we sat on the grass behind the deckchair area.

 

We arrived fairly early as it was a lovely day and gave us a chance to eat our picnic. We finished out picnic in time for us to catch the warm up act, Big Fish, who are an English duo that cover a variety of musical genres. They weren’t anything special in my opinion, but got a warm round of applause once they finished. And as is the norm, there was an interval in between acts as we waited for Blondie to show and rock Kenwood House.

 

The gig itself featured a nice mix of Blondie classics that everyone knew (Atomic, Hanging on the Telephone, The Tide Is High, One Way Or Another) with those from their more recent albums (Maria). Not all the classics were played in their original form. The Tide Is High and One Way Or Another were extended versions, allowing for band members to show off their skills with their instruments. Songs such asAtomic (my dad was happy to leave at this point!) and Hanging on the Telephone were played in their original format, and enabled the crowd to get involved in singing along.

 

There were a few songs that weren’t played that I would have liked – Denis, Union City Blues and X Offender were three that came to mind. But it was a fantastic set of songs that vowed fans, who were disappointed when Heart of Glass finished the evening off. Everyone went home knowing they had been to a good gig!

 

Overall Verdict

It was a fantastic gig! Only two things spoiled it – the annoying security guards who didn’t allow those sat on the grass to escape to the front along with the deckchair people; and the other was that I found out Bridget Regan was down at Hyde Park enjoying Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney at the Hard Rock Calling gig there. Apart from that, Debbie Harry and the rest of Blondie were awesome, with stellar performances from all. A top gig that was made better by some cracking British weather!

 

A selection of YouTube clips of some of the songs I have mentioned:

 

- The Tide Is High by Blondie

- Atomic by Blondie

- Heart of Glass by Blondie

- Maria by Blondie

- YouTube channel with most of the songs on it

 

Sadly, my pictures were not very good, so I am not bothering posting them!

[Canis Rufus]

Sounds like a blast, I can;t say I have ever attened a concernt with my mother.  But me and My dad have gone to see Bob Dylan and it was a great time.

 

To be honest I thought Debbi Herris was dead, not trying to be mean but I am really shocked she's still performing.  Did she do a big show, set changes and dancing and the like or was it more of a stand and sing thing?

[Corki]

My dad is an opera/classical music person, whereas my mum is the pop/rock one of my parents. But my dad makes an exception when it comes to Debbie Harry and Blondie.

 

Blondie were the main act, so they did do a big show. It was about 90 minutes in length (if not longer). There were no set changes, but she was extremely active across the stage. I was pleasantly surprised!

[Canis Rufus]

That is shocking I mean she has to be fairly odd now,