Deborah Harry, with Blondie, El Rey, Los Angeles, February 10, 1999
Photo credit: Sherry Gunderman, our intrepid heroine,
"Meeting a Goddess" by Sherry Gunderman
Deborah Harry, with Blondie, El Rey, Los Angeles, February 10, 1999
Photo credit: Sherry Gunderman, our intrepid heroine,
Tonight was my last Blondie show of the millennium. As many of you know, I've followed this band for the past year as best I could. I saw them perform their first show in the states in 16 years at the El Rey in LA...then roadtripped to Vegas with some boy boys to see them at the House of Blues. Then there was the May show in LA...with shotty nosebleed seating...and I had just about lost hope with ever meeting my idol. Tonight was mesmerizing. I've worked in a trendy LA bar for 5 years now. I've MET more "celebrities" than the common mortal...but this was the pinnacle of achievements. My friend David had won front row seats and backstage passes off a very cool DJ on a local radio station. He and his boyfriend took the front row seats...I got his purchased ticket for the first aisle behind the pit. A lesbian couple that David knew had come with us, as well as Lisa, a girl we met through the DHBIS (an internet Blondie fan club). We were in scattered seating throughout the amphitheater, but no one cared. The lights dimmed and the show began.
I knew the routine by now. The boys came onstage first..."Dreaming" began to swell, and Debbie Harry made her way onto the stage in sunglasses and a sexy dress. The crowd went nuts. Since I didn't have to drive, I'd thrown back a few drinks before the show and that only added to it. Inhibitions went out the window and I danced like a crazy person. They played everything...old...new...I was shocked and disappointed that people around me weren't displaying their enthusiasm half as much as I was. Leigh Foxx locked eyes with me and winked. I waved maniacally and continued to dance. When the show wound down with "Heart of Glass", I turned to a sitting couple next to me...who sat through the WHOLE SHOW...and gestured for them to stand and said "I think you may know THIS one!"
The lights came up and people began to filter out....