I recently won a contest from one of my favorite Houston
live music venues, Warehouse Live, and the prize was getting to attend all of
their fall shows for free. Seeing as how
I love live music and have caught some other great shows at this venue, this
was right up my alley. First up on the
list of “must see” shows was Blondie and X.
Legendary New York punk pioneers, Blondie, returned to
Houston last Friday as part of their “No Principals” tour and they brought
along their west coast friends, X, to join in on the ride. And what a ride it was. I have been fortunate to see Debbie Harry and
company a handful of times before, but I never thought I would have the
opportunity to see X up close and personal in such an intimate venue. It was like something out of a Los Angeles punk
scene fairy tale. And it was no surprise that the moment Exene
Cervenka and John Doe took the stage the place exploded with excitement. Ripping through raging hits like “I’m Coming
Over,” “True Love,” and the cult classic “Los Angeles,” X never skipped a beat
and got the crowd lit with excitement and left them wanting more. Throughout the show, Exene and John exchanged
quite a bit of banter with the audience expressing their gratitude to be back
in Texas. Seeing as how X are punk
legends in their own right, it was the perfect beginning to a night sure to be
wrought with nostalgic bliss for both the bands and fans alike.
Then it was time for those sweethearts of CBGB’s to take the
stage and what better way to keep the party going than to kick it into higher
gear with “One Way or Another” before introducing the crowd to a new track, “Rave,”
from their 2013 release Ghosts of Download. There was no slowing down either as the hits
kept coming while Debbie, guitarist Chris Stein and drummer Clem Burke raucously
pounded out more gems from their extensive catalog sharing the very heart and
soul that has kept these three a tight knit group for over four decades. Incorporating new songs with the classics
that most people come out to hear can sometimes be a tricky situation, but
definitely one of the highlights of the night was when they performed “Drag You
Around” from their latest endeavor which featured some amazing guitar work by
Tommy Kessler who has been touring with Blondie as lead guitarist since 2010. Let’s face it though, Blondie is probably
most notably known for a certain little song called “Rapture” that changed the
face of music upon its initial release. This
time around, though, Debbie upped the ante and followed the tune with a short
cover of “No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn” of Beastie Boys fame. Yep, that happened. And it was awesome. The show ended with my favorite Blondie song
of all time, “Dreaming” from 1979’s Eat
to the Beat.
The night could not have been more perfect from beginning to
end. This was undoubtedly the best
Blondie show I have witnessed and to see X live was just the icing on the cake
to make the night that much sweeter and memorable. For two bands to still have the following they
do is a testament to the imprint they have left on music forever. And may the light never go out on their legacy
and only shine brighter as the years go on.
This was truly a show I will never forget. Until next time Warehouse Live.
