The Sheffield Scenester

Two hours before the doors opened, a line of Blondie fans had already formed outside the Academy. Turns out, they had been there since morning. Having never seen Blondie perform live before, I figured this display of dedication could be an indication that we were going to see something special. Something worth waiting for. After all, Blondie have had so many hit singles over a lengthy and successful career, it's logical to think the show would be enjoyable and impressive. If I'm honest, It didn't quite turn out as expected.

But before Debbie Harry and co took to the stage, support act Little Fish were given the task of winning over a room of loyal Blondie fans. Guitarist Juju and drummer Nez have a White Stripes vibe about them, but that's a pretty easy comparison to make. There's a bit more to them than that. After a steady start, Juju soon found her groove and was singing the songs with a great deal of power and intensity. With a wild look in her eyes, she appeared as though she was about to snap. Reminded me of Juliette Lewis. For such a slight figure, it was impressive. The vocals were delivered with great control and talent, the choruses and guitar riffs hit us full on, and Nez never missed a beat. The highlight of the set was 'Am I Crazy', the chorus of which Juju seemed to take great delight in screaming. By the end of their set, Little Fish had taken over the Academy and everyone was nodding along in approval. With the experience of this tour under their belts and an appearance lined up at next months Sonisphere festival, I don't think it will be long before Little Fish are heading out on their own headline tours. I recommend you look them up.

After the unveiling of a very stylish and sophisticated looking stage set, Blondie walked out to a huge round of applause. For a relatively small Academy crowd - the balcony was almost empty - the excitement was akin to that generated by much bigger crowds. Debbie Harry, looking as striking as ever dressed all in black, wearing a long blonde wig and sun glasses, took a moment to enjoy the applause before the opening song, 'D Day'. With Debbie leading from the front, co-founder Chris Stein on guitar, cool looking Matt Katz-Bohenand on keyboards and Clem behind his uber-flash drum kit, they looked as though they meant business.

'Hanging on the Telephone' quickly followed, giving the not so dedicated members of the audience one of the classics early on. Straight into the third song, 'The Hardest Part', Debbie's delivery befitted the lyrics as she sang, "Twenty five tons of hardened steel" in a forceful and assured manor. After a promising start, things started to falter. Debbie's vocals on crowd favourite, 'Marie' were drowned out by the instruments and she seemed happier to let the audience to sing the high notes - a theme which unfortunately continued for the rest of the night. From that point onwards, Debbie seemed to struggle with the pace of several songs and it was clear the band were trying to slow things down. The sound left a lot to be desired as well as even the drums seemed very quiet, despite Clem's visible hard work. Credit where it's due though, new song, 'What I Heard' is a certain hit and the band seemed to enjoy it.

Debbie took charge of the audience as she paced back and forth across the stage during 'Too Hot', full of energy and rebellion. Moments like that were classic Harry. The only problem was, I got the feeling those moments are now few and far between. 'Rapture' presented Debbie with another time to shine and she nailed the rap portion of the song, although the poor sound meant her vocals didn't cut through. All I could hear was the woman stood next to me who saw fit to shout her own out-of-tune interpretation.

Aside from the odd highlight along the way, there were far too many songs which were well below par. For a band of such pedigree and experience, overall, I would have to describe the show as a disappointment. The seemingly unshakable devotion of the fans stood at the barrier only served to add to the disappointment, which then turned to frustration, as they clearly felt this performance was acceptable and worth paying £40 for. It was not. 'Atomic' was a perfect example of this. The intro is instantly recognisable and should have been Chris Stein's time to shine. However, he didn't step out of the shadows, he was out of tune, and there were actually notes missing. It was barely recognisable but he didn't actually seem bothered by it. Across the stage, lead guitarist Tommy Kessler seemed happy enough to rip into extended solos throughout the show, regardless of whether or not they actually suited the songs. Again, this led to parts being unrecognisable.

'The Tide is High' seemed like a surprise inclusion and was a nice change of pace mid-set. 'Call Me' and 'One Way or Another' were of course greeted with the loudest cheers but, once again, all the power of the choruses were lost to the poor sound. The encore included '(I'm Always Touched) By Your Presence Dear', its first outing on this tour. A fine performance from Debbie which led us to show closer, 'Heart of Glass'. With a well-crafted extended ending, Debbie then took a moment to thank the audience before the band left the stage.

A handful of songs deserved a big round of applause, without doubt, and you can't fail to be taken with Debbie's style, but the inconsistency of the bands performance was both confusing and rather unsatisfying.

Words/Photographs by Paul Handley