Blondie put on a good show at Pandemonium Rocks in Australia for their first show of 2024 but not a great show. The band was outstanding but Debbie Harry’s voice was just not there.
Blondie haven’t played any shows since September 2023 so that’s not a long time inbetween tours for major acts but at Pandemonium Rocks in Melbourne, the band certainly carried her. The good news is Blondie have so many iconic songs that it compensated for the downside. The power was definitely there but since we last saw Blondie in Australia in 2017, Debbie’s voice has deteriorated.
Having said that, I would much prefer to hear the real voice instead of a Madonna-like pre-recorded mimed show. The essence of Blondie, the punk rock/new wave band of the 70s/80s was very much in place. Blondie still had attitude.
This was a festival gig with limited time was Blondie only had 70 minutes for the setlist. In that time they managed to cover beginning to end dating back to the Australia only hit ‘In The Flesh’ (yeah that’s right, no 2 in Australia and nowhere to be seen in the USA and UK).
Fun Fact: Blondie didn’t break in America until their third album ‘Parallel Lines’ and the single ‘Heart of Glass’ in 1979.
Debbie Harry and Clem Burke are the only two originals left in Blondie now. It was great to see bass player Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols on stage in Australia again with Blondie.
I know this sounds all doom and gloom but the fact is its pretty hard to fuck up a Blondie show with so many great songs. ‘Hanging On The Telephone’ and ‘One Way Or Another’ as tracks two and three won the crowd over. ‘Call Me’, ‘Atomic’, ‘In The Flesh’, ‘Rapture’ and ‘The Tide Is High’ in quick succession created Party Mode and ‘Heart of Glass’ was just pure 80s disco.
I’m still glad I got to see Blondie again. Let’s face it, so many of the major acts of the 70s are in final tour mode and I doubt we’ll get Blondie back in Australia again.
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
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- Blondie at Pandemonium Melbourne 20 April 2024 by Winston Robinson
Blondie setlist, 20 April 2024 Pandemonium Rocks, Melbourne
X Offender (from Blondie, 1976)
Hanging on the Telephone (from Parallel Lines, 1978)
One Way or Another (from Parallel Lines, 1978)
Nothing Is Real But The Girl (from No Exit, 1999)
Call Me (single from American Gigalo, 1980)
Will Anything Happen? (from Parallel Lines, 1978)
Atomic (from Eat To The Beat, 1979)
In the Flesh (from Blondie, 1976)
Rapture (from Autoamerican, 1980)
The Tide Is High (from Autoamerican, 1980)
Long Time (from Pollinator, 2017)
Maria (from No Exit, 1999)
Heart of Glass (from Parallel Lines, 1978)
Fun (from Pollinator, 2017) / Denis (from Plastic Letters, 1978)
Dreaming (from Eat To The Beat, 1979)
SET TIMES FOR ALL SHOWS ARE AS FOLLOWS
MELBOURNE
Saturday, April 20: Caribbean Gardens
1.30pm: Gates Open
2.10-2.40pm Aimee Francis & The Midnight Hours
3.00-3.40pm: Cosmic Psychos
4.00-4.30pm: Wolfmother
5.00pm-5.40pm: Wheatus
6.00-6.45pm: Psychedelic Furs
7.20-8.30pm: Blondie
9.10-10.20pm: Alice Cooper
NEWCASTLE
Tuesday, April 23: Newcaslte Entertainment Centre
5.00pm: Doors Open
6.00-6.30pm: Wolfmother
7.00-7.30pm: Psychedelic Furs
8.00-9.10pm: Blondie
9.50-11.00pm: Alice Cooper
SYDNEY
Thursday, April 25: Cathy Freeman Park, Sydney Olympic Park Precinct
2.00pm: Gates Open
2.30-3.00pm Fyrebirds
3.20-4.00pm: Cosmic Psychos
4.20-5.00pm: Wolfmother
5.20pm-6.00pm: Wheatus
6.20-7.05pm: Psychedelic Furs
7.40-8.50pm: Blondie
9.30-10.40pm: Alice Cooper
GOLD COAST
Saturday, April 27: Broadwater Parklands
1.00pm: Gates Open
1.40-2.10pm The Silencio
2.30-3.10pm: Cosmic Psychos
3.30-4.10pm: Wolfmother
4.30pm-5.10pm: Wheatus
5.30-6.15pm: Psychedelic Furs
6.50-8.00pm: Blondie
8.40-9.50pm: Alice Cooper
BRISBANE
Sunday, April 28: Eatons Hill Hotel
1.30pm: Gates Open
2.10-2.40pm PistonFist
3.00-3.40pm: Cosmic Psychos
4.00-4.40pm: Wolfmother
5.00pm-5.45pm: Wheatus
6.15-7.00pm: Psychedelic Furs
7.40-8.50pm: Alice Cooper
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