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Blondie Singer Leaves Crowd Wanting More

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By CURTIS ROSS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 19, 2007

TAMPA - Her trademark blond mane has been replaced by a silver-streaked pompadour. But Deborah Harry, 62, still reigns as a new wave icon supreme.

Saturday night, Harry drew 475 mostly adoring fans to the Tampa Theatre for a tour supporting her first solo album in 14 years, "Necessary Evil."

Harry earned her fame as the lead singer of Blondie, and two of that band's hits - "The Tide Is High" and "Heart of Glass" - were included in her set, albeit in stripped-down form, with Harry backed only by acoustic guitar and hand percussion.

Otherwise, Harry drew from her solo catalog - five albums and a few singles - and focused heavily on "Necessary Evil."

Although her own material never has reached the peaks of popularity Blondie scaled, the set was mostly successful; vintage tracks such as "Rush Rush," "French Kissin'" and "I Can See Clearly" sounded fresh, perhaps because they never received the saturation airplay Blondie's hits did.

The set got off to a shaky start, though. Harry seemed uncomfortable - an in-ear monitor seemed to be the culprit - and left the stage after four numbers, presumably to address the matter troubling her.

She returned, still looking tense, to sing the ballad "If I Had You."

"French Kissin'" followed, and the crowd's enthusiastic reaction seemed to relieve her, and the show picked up considerably from there.

"School for Scandal" was enhanced with some frenetic lighting, while hand claps and spy-movie guitar added to the tension of "Love With a Vengeance."

Harry said goodnight after a powerful "Whiteout," returning for one encore, "Charm Alarm."

The set, barely 75 minutes long, left out such Harry numbers as "Backfired" and "I Want That Man." The crowd's enthusiasm certainly warranted at least a second encore.

Reporter Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.

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