Blondie: X Marks the Spot

If you had told me back at Rhodes Junior High in 1980 that I would be a position to start skipping events with Debbie Harry and Blondie involved, I'd have ripped you to shreds. But their touring machine is obviously a well-oiled -- read: money-making -- one, so you can understand why I don't need to go see them every other day. Hitting the road with the New Cars didn't smell good either, so when I heard yet another U.S. tour had been announced, I was prepared to take a(nother) pass. (Once you've seen the "Parallel Lines" 30th anniversary show -- and another since it -- you're kind of set for five years or so.) 

But with news that X -- my favorite punk band of all time, who I've only seen in '83 and '09  -- will be on the bill with the Blondies, I suddenly started to howl like a hungry wolf again. Blondie is reportedly trying out a bunch of new material, while X is drumming up excitement for their deluxe vinyl box set due out this fall, which features the band’s first four classic albums, plus a special booklet featuring a forward their former producer, the late Ray Manzarek of the Doors. The complete list of tour dates is HERE.

And speaking of the past, came across this 1977 photo of Deb with Patti Smith. I had always heard there was no love lost between the two -- Patti is rumored to have told Debbie that "CBGB's wasn't big enough for the both of us" -- but then Patti's book about the era didn't even mention Deb in passing. Perhaps this was a dig unto itself, or maybe this photo means they really got along just fine ...