Blondie / Little Fish

Not long after astounding the crowd at the Isle Of White festival Blondie is back and playing the more intimate venue of Sheffield Academy. First up are Oxford's Little Fish, a band doing so well that they have supported the likes of Alice In Chains, Hole, Placebo and Them Crooked Vultures to name a few in the last couple of years. And their first album, produced by Linda Perry (formally of 4 Non Blondes) has not even been released yet! Check out their song 'Baffled and Beat' as a free download from the album of the same name due out this year.

Having seen these guys before as the two-piece they started out with I am ready to be amazed once again. Singer Juju wows the crowd (which are in the mainly older vein) with her endless energy, flawless guitar skills and friendly banter, as well as powerfully strong voice (similar in ways to Perry's and with a hint of Patti Smith). All in all pretty mesmerising. Nez hits those drums so hard he is a complete rhythm section on his own, pounding out the beat to Juju's sore lyrics and crazy guitar melodies. The addition on Ben on the Hammond keyboard gives a little lift to the sound, but these guys are still as heavy as they were last year as a twosome.



The band play debut single 'Am I Crazy', a tale of love making you go insane, but it's the heavier tracks like 'Devil's Eyes' that stand out. The band gain a huge round of applause after their half an hour set, something that not many unknown support bands get… I can see these guys flying the flag for Oxford and the UK for a long time to come.

Blondie does not hang about, taking to the stage on time (something that a lot of headlining acts do not do!). Debbie Harry has definitely still got it, picking up more and more steam as the gig goes on. Dressed all in black with a petticoat skirt, huge belts and sparkly sunglasses, she looks as hot as ever (well for an old lass!). Shame she or the record label do not allow photographers into the show, I think she would come out looking amazing for her age.

It's not just the old tracks we get tonight, the band have a new album out later this year called 'Panic Of Girls' and we are treated to plenty of tracks from this, fitting seamlessly in with the more well known tracks. And this is where a Blondie gig shines, sure it may have been 30 or more year since these songs were first heard but they are still powerful today, with the sold out crowd loving every minute of singing along with Harry, drowning her out more often than not!

The band still have original members Chris Stein and Clem Burke with new guys Leigh Fox, Matt Katz-Bohen, Tommy Kessler and older member Jimmy Destri backing them up with tremendous guitar and midi keyboard guitar solos, many added to the original songs to give them more oomph.

Blondie's mixture of punk, new wave, reggae, disco and synth pop was always popular (especially in the UK where it was picked up sooner than in the US) and tonight shows it is still loved by many people, old and young. It is over 30 years since 'Parallel Lines' came out and made them stars.

As mentioned before it's the older sings that many are here for, and we are treated to all the hits (apart from 'Denis'). 'Hanging On The Telephone', 'Maria', 'Tonight', 'Tide Is High', 'Rapture', 'Call Me', 'One Way Or Another' are all performed with as much energy as the band had in it’s hey day.

A cover of Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris' 'Break Your Heart' is a little strange but they pull it off and the crowd love it, singing as loud as they did to Blondie's own tunes. Finishing on 'Heart of Glass' Harry says "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!". Yes Blondie, you've still got it!

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.