Blondie Recognized Punk Roots at Denver Concert, and Everyone Still Wants to Be Debbie Harry

In a 2007 BBC mini-doc on Blondie, the band's former manager Peter Leeds noted the obvious: Blondie would be nothing without Debbie Harry. When he took Chrysalis Records founder Terry Ellis to a concert before Blondie signed to the label, Ellis saw that, too. "Terry just focused right on Deborah Harry," Leeds recalled. "And as soon as he saw that face and the charisma and the magic that Deborah Harry has, Terry knew."

At 78 years old, Harry is still the driving force behind the new-wave pioneers, who came to Denver for a concert at Mission Ballroom on May 8. The blondie of Blondie belted out all of the band's big hits, and even if her voice is somewhat grittier — we could blame it on the altitude, of course — the audience members, in a massive number that spilled out into the hallways of the venue, showed nothing but adulation, eyes always glued to the singer at center stage. Screens, too: The elderly gentleman standing next to me had his phone up throughout the night to take videos, and he zoomed in solely on Harry, gaping at her with a wide grin. She's still got it.

So did the band's original drummer, Clem Burke, who proved his skills are as fresh as when Chris Stein and Harry founded Blondie on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the early ’70s. Joined by guitarist Tommy Kessler, guitarist Andee Blacksugar, bassist Glen Matlock and Matt Katz Bohen on keys, Blondie began the set with one of its biggest hits, "One Way or Another," followed by, well, more hits. Because when it comes down to it, almost any Blondie song could be categorized as such, but especially those from the band's third album, Parallel Lines, which shot the group to mainstream success in 1978 and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress earlier this year.

But while Blondie is best known for its distinct new-wave pop, its roots are in punk rock, which the band reminded us of last night with heavy guitar and drum solos and such songs as "Will Anything Happen?" and "Nothing Is Real but the Girl." The music's beat moved Harry like the ocean does a buoy; her fingers flitted through the air as she whipped her hair, tilted and rocked, fully synchronized to each moment of each song. And punk was hardly the only genre Blondie showcased; the band is known for its varied influences and featured them all, from the impact of Grandmaster Flash in "Rapture," in which Harry rapped along with the audience, to Donna Summer and disco in "X Offender" and "In the Flesh."

The highlight came during the end of the show before the encore, with the much-anticipated "Heart of Glass." It's one of the best, most impactful Blondie songs, a showcase of Harry's ethereal vocals and Blondie's trailblazing of the new wave. The disco ball at the Mission never looked better, glittering to the beat as the entire crowd sang along with Harry, who was likewise sparkling in a silver tunic, her hair forming a halo from the lights. It was an emotional moment, as the realization dawned that the concert's end was nearing with each "oo-oo-ah-ah" she crooned, before encores of "Dog Star Girl" and "Dreamin'."

And as Mission Ballroom became a disco in those last minutes of the show, Harry's powerful presence was never clearer. One phrase in particular was uttered by many throughout the night: "God, I still want to be her."

Find more concerts in Denver on our concert calendar.

This article has been corrected to note "Heart of Glass" closed the set, but was not the encore.