The Freeman Stage at Bayside
Fenwick Island, Delaware
Wednesday, July 8th, 2015
As luck would have it, the heavy downpour rain had stopped as I pulled into the parking lot to see a co-headlining bill from a pair of female fronted bands, Melissa Etheridge & Blondie. Wow, I have not seen Etheridge since the 1994 "Woodstock Concert," and I have never seen Blondie until now. Where does the time go, huh!! On this co-headlining tour it's Etheridge's turn to open, and as they took the stage at 7pm she opened with "If I Wanted To," after which she said, “Hello Delaware, you have a really cool venue here and even a golf course right next door.” The band then played "No Souvenirs" and "I Want to Come Over" before her guitar-tech brought out a beautiful 12-string aqua-teal colored guitar and traded her Fender Stratocaster and played "Take My Number," one of three new songs off her latest record This is M.E., released September 2014. From here on out she must have changed guitars every song with "Chrome Plated Heart" and "Like A Preacher" off her latest album. She spoke to the crowd again saying, “this is the band’s last U.S. gig as we fly off to Europe tomorrow for a short run of dates there before returning and hooking back up with Blondie for a few west coast dates.” She then played "Come to My Window," from Yes I Am, her biggest album which has gone six times platinum. She then followed with the last off her latest album, "Monster," then "I'm The Only One," an extended jam with Etheridge playing harmonica on most of the song and closing her set with a crowd favorite, "Bring Me Some Water." The band left the stage for a short, but long, five-minute break (for bands at the Freeman Stage) and returned for one encore, "Like the Way I Do," to close out her 80-minute set.
Now it was time for Blondie. The band took the stage at 9 pm with Deborah Harry emerging last wearing a black dress with a pink belt and sparkling sunglasses. They opened with "One Way or Another," a hit from their 1978 record Parallel Lines. Harry, who turned 70 in early July, showed no signs of slowing down as she would walk the stage from side to side all night. They then played "Rave," a song from their latest double album Blondie 4(0) Ever, in celebration of their 40th anniversary, the first album being of greatest hits and the second one of all new material. Then after the next song "Hanging on the Telephone," like Etheridge, Harry addressed the crowd saying, "you have a pretty cool place here, and we're gonna play some new songs and we're gonna play some old songs.” The band then launched into "Mile High," "Call Me," "Maria," "Euphoria" and “A Rose by Any Name," written by drummer Clem Burke about his un-born child. Next up was "Rapture," their 1980 hit, which at the end segued into the Beastie Boys’ "You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party),” which was a little cool.
Harry now says that, “I think we are in an ocean town because of the seafood we had for dinner tonight.” And saying that as drummer Clem Burke is from New Jersey, it’s hard for them to get him on the road, and mentions that he made out okay as Hurricane Sandy passed by a few years ago; and that she was told our town did well also. That said, it was appropriate that after saying, “you always gotta watch when "The Tide is High", they played that song to a nice applause from the crowd. Now she tells the audience that their bus driver said this was a retirement town; the crowd laughs and says, no. Then she says, then where are you from? And someone says “close by;” so she says, “ok, close by is good.” Then they played "Atomic," "Sugar on the Side," and closed out their 90-minute set with "Heart of Glass,” another hit off their Parallel Lines album. After a quick break they returned for one last song, their 1979 hit, "Dreaming." Too bad this double bill isn't anywhere close again, but if you get the chance to see either of these female-fronted bands go do so; you will not be let down. They sound wonderful. But there are plenty more great shows coming to the Freeman Stage, so check them out at
www.freemanstage.org and also you can check out Melissa Etheridge info at
www.melissaetheridge.com and Blondie at
www.blondie.net
– Gary Crouthamel, Concert Photographer
