Blondie at The Olympia | Review

Blondie at the Olympia, Dublin on Tuesday 25th of June 2013

“Oh, your hair is beautiful tonight,” sings Debbie Harry in Blondie’s iconic Atomic. Well thank you Debbie – Goldenplec did just get our hair done, in fairness – but unfortunately we can’t return the compliment.

Harry’s hair, if it actually is her hair, is bleached to within an inch of its life and is just part of the whole ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ vision she conveys. A short orange dress and platform shoes complete the sort of look you might catch around the Jervis Centre on a sunny day.

But looks can be deceiving and, while 67 year old Harry struggles to recreate her late ‘70s/early ‘80s self visually, she has no problem doing it musically. Nor indeed do her band. And, as they take the stage to Soviet marching music just before 9 and kick off with One Way or Another, it may as well be 1979 all over again.

The crowd, spanning in age from those who were old enough to see it first time round to those whose parents weren’t even old enough to see it first time round, shouts along to even drown out Harry’s voice. But when she can be heard, she’s a good as ever.

Whenever the band dip into their back catalogue, from 1978’s Hanging on the Telephone to 1999’s Maria, the reaction is the same throbbing, excited one. These are the reasons why Blondie are still relevant decades later; why touts lined Dame Street from before 7pm looking for ‘anyone selling tickets’. The hits were faultless.

The problem is that each of the hits is tempered by a new song that audience doesn’t know. Granted, they are touring new material – from the yet to be released ‘Ghosts of Download’ – but there is a palpable sense of deflation and disappointment from the crowd every time a new track is reeled out.

Blondie, to their credit, do try to make the new material as engaging as possible, filling them with energy and enthusiasm. For the most part it’s Harry who leads the crowd. She’s the pied piper with the crowd compelled to follow her. She may no longer be the object of desire she once was. She is now just the object of adoration. When Harry, who was born during World War 2 remember, can’t handle it, guitarist Tommy Kessler steps up seamlessly to take the lead.

And, of course, there is never a classic far away. Maria gets the biggest reaction from the crowd but Atomic is the real star of the show. Harry hits every note as the song’s energy looks to tear the roof off. It’s the finest example of Blondie’s rock origins and shows the band working in perfect unison. Kessler’s shredding solo which closes it out is just the cherry on top.

While, there were many highlights on the night – Call Me in the encore was another – they came in patches. There was always a reason for the crowd to lose focus just around the corner. There was never a sustained euphoria; the peaks were only fleeting. And this is the line between a good show and a truly unforgettable one. Blondie in the Olympia was the former.