Blondie & Jarboe at Bumbershoot

[marky]

Blondie

I mean, Debbie Harry
came out in a NEON FLOURESCENT GREEN OUTFIT WITH BLACKSUNGLASSES AND A NEON FLOURESCENT COWBOY HAT AND THESE WEIRD STRAPS ALL GOING AT DIFFERENT ANGLES FROM HER NECK. The whole outfit was Neon Flourescent Green except for her black studded leather belts and even her Shoes were neon flourescent early-80's green. She threw out both her shoes to the audience eventually, dancing barefoot for awhile, but complaining that the stage was too hot and putting on other shoes) The punk queen. But I didn't take pictures because I'm stupid and never think of bringing my camera to these things.

She came off as such a badass sex kitten. There was the moment when her mike stand had fallen over and some roadie came out and stood it up and she immediately knocked it down again and kept on singing!! (he didn't try to stand it up again) HAahaha PUNK ROCK!!

And then towards the end someone had thrown her a rose onto the stage, wrapped in plastic I think, and she immediately picked it up and bit the red flower off it's stem and spat it out on the ground because she is A BADASS NEW YORK PUNK QUEEN. Hahahaha. John Lydon would approve!

She even blew me a kiss, you think I lie, and I blew her one back, you think I lie. There was only me and this one other guy up front who I knew was a fag because he and his lover made it known during the opening band that they were fags very openly to everyone. But he and I were the only ones who really knew all the songs and were totally into it within the vicinity of the people we were around. Keep in mind this is daytime and an all ages thing. My dream was true to life, I was up front, maybe only a bit closer to the stage than when I saw New Order. Extraordinary. And I know that she blew the kiss at me because she proceeded to then blow the kiss at him. It was weird that way. So I'm glad I blew a kiss back because earlier I thought she might have waved at me, but I didn't think it could be me and so didn't wave back and felt awful about that afterwards.

They did Rapture. She added a rap to it at the end that was really amazing. I trust it was probably a cover of something else, but it was outstanding.

What else? Oh, they did "Atomic", that was good.

They did a version of "In The Flesh" that was totally changed, different melody, different guitar, everything. Kindof interesting, actually. You only recognize the lyrics.

But then...when Blondie were over...since this was Bumbershoot with lots and lots of bands playing...

I went to see The Living Jarboe. Which was a wholly different experience entirely. This is the woman who used to be in the New York band Swans. I had respect for that because I love almost all Swans releases ever. But I really wasn't sure I'd dig her on her own without Michael Gira and co. Instead I was spellbound. I couldn't leave, the minute she started it was like a spell being cast. I was kindof dehydrated, I craved water, but I couldn't leave. She was absolutely amazing, seriously. One of the most amazing gigs I've ever been to.

I'm not the sort of person who is really into the idea of a pagan Goddess, but she came to feel very powerful to me. Made worse by the fact that toward the end, she ventured out into the crowd with her wireless microphone, and started singing specifically to the guy two rows ahead of me. She then sang to the lady in front of me, and then to me personally. I was sooo embarassed. So many people looking at me, she held out her hand to me and I had seen the guy two rows ahead of me respond by holding her hand in return, so I did the safe thing and held her hand, too, at which time her singing voice got louder and I looked at her in the eyes as she sang and oh my god it was frightful. That lady is magic, she's...so powerful.

And the lady she had playing piano for her had fantastic legs and black laced up boots that stopped just above her knees. And she sang well, too. And she played piano, which I love to hear piano without anything else. Really I do. And I still have so little music in my collection that really allows me to enjoy just a piano and nothing more. I really like listening to just piano by itself.

Anyway yeah, it was pretty intense. More than Blondie was, really.

[marky]

Another thing Jarboe did was hold a picture of George Bush up to the audience for awhile and then after a pause, tore it in two.

Cheers erupted.

[marky]

Another really important thing to note about Blondie though is that they did a cover of Roxy Music's "More Than This"! I am not lying. I could pretty much sing the words back to her so I did. That is a fantastic song, but I'm lying if I say I really know all the words. She had to walk me through it.

[marky]

Also I guess Jarboe wouldn't appeal to everyone. She is very goth, actually, though I've come to loathe that word, I do feel it must be said, goth is a factor here. It's not happy music, it's cathartic music. She is channeling spirits. Chanting within music. Even though she's not really chanting, the psychological effect is the same.

[marky]

Last thing I'll say about Bumbershoot:

I saw a very young guy in a black Love Will Tear Us Apart T-Shirt. He couldn't have been older than 16. It was the white statue figure you see related to that. Peter Saville?

[marky]

Well I guess I spoke too soon, because I also wanted to say that Jarboe did a Dead Can Dance cover!! It was one of their more recent songs I believe, the one you can tell is about Bush and the downfall of this country (she ripped up the Bush picture after this song) where he sings "Too long we've been American Dreaming/I think we've all lost the way" and at the time she was singing this it drove me INSANE because I couldn't figure out who did that song and it seemed so familiar to me. I had to come home and type the lyrics into a search engine to figure it out. Dead Can Dance are also "goth", I love them a lot.

[marky]

But I'm going to take that back because I think that song came from before Bush was in office, so he couldn't have written it specifically about him, it just makes you think that.

[marky]

Here's what Jarboe looks like. Isn't she scary?



Trust me, she's scary. I would be very scared to fuck with her.

[marky]

No sense in crossing a black cat's path you know? Just to be on the safe side.

[marky]

Seriously if you do her wrong, I can't be sure the hounds of hell won't chase you to your grave. Just don't get too close to her. I'm just trying to give you sound advice, man. She scares me.

[marky]

Oh my god and that Dead Can Dance song she covered!!!
That is an amazing song - I have a live version of Dead Can Dance doing it that I bought from the band. And his voice is so deep and he has such a beautiful voice, Brendan Perry.

"We've Been Too Long American Dreaming/I think we've all lost the way/Farewell somnambulistic maniacal..."

Just insanely good.

Okay here are the lyrics in full:

American Dreaming
I need my conscience to keep watch over me
To protect me from myself
So I can wear honesty like a crown on my head
When I walk into the promised land
We've been too long American dreaming
And I think we've all lost the way
Forlorn somnambulistic maniacal in the dark
I'm in love with an American girl
Though she's my best friend
I love her surreptitious smile
That hides the pain within her
And we'll go dancing in the rings of laughter
And live along by the shores
???
Yeah-ee, on the lea the rising wind blows
Fay-hee, on the lea the rising wind blows
How long how long?
??? in the grounds of ??? we've left behind
Turned back by the foot of the doorway
Never lost and found
We've been too long American dreaming
I think we've all lost the heart
Forlorn somnambulistic maniacal in the dark
Yeah-ee, on the lea the rising wind blows
Fay-hee, on the lea the rising wind blows
How long how long?


And then she tore up the picture of George Bush on stage.