Concert: Garbage and Blondie at Wolf Trap

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My dad and I first discovered Garbage in 2004 at the HFStival (which is no longer), although I realize they had a successful career long before that. We became immediate fans, and now whenever they are in the area, we go to see them. In 2015 we saw them at the 9:30 Club, and last year they performed at the Lincoln Theatre. I'm also pretty sure we saw them at the Fillmore in Silver Spring in 2013, though for some reason I didn't write a blog post about it!

Last week, my dad and I saw them at Wolf Trap, the only performing arts National Park (I believe). I love this venue because it has a lawn where you can enjoy a picnic while watching the show. Unfortunately, it happened to rain the day we went! It was raining before the show, then stopped as soon as the entry gates opened; the rain held off while we ate our dinner. But then once the music started, the rain picked up again. And this wasn't just sprinkles: this was a real thunderstorm! At one point we had our tarp over our heads to act as a canopy, but either way we ended up soaked. If we didn't love Garbage so much, we probably would have left. But they are worth it!

Deap Vally opened the show, and this girl-band duo is awesome! I thought they were a really good choice to start off this concert. I didn't recognize their name or any of their songs, but I wish them luck in becoming the next [mini] Go-Go's! Here are some of their songs:

Julian

Smile More

Baby I Call Hell

Royal Jelly

Lies

Critic

Walk of Shame

Gonnawanna

Little Baby Beauty Queen

I actually wasn't sure who was listed as the headliner for this show. I knew Blondie had been around longer, but Debbie Harry is getting old, so I thought maybe she was the opener. My dad was sure Garbage was the main act, but I guess Blondie is still more famous!

Even at 50, Shirley can still rock it! Image found here

Garbage ended up playing a lot of songs from their newest album, Strange Little Birds. I bought this album last year, but I have to admit that it's not my favorite. The program notes describe it as having the theme of darkness, which is true. It's a little morose; only a handful of songs have a great energy that sticks with you (including Magnetized, which they didn't perform). My dad made the good point that if they had played that music when we first saw them, we probably wouldn't have become fans. Here are some of the songs they played from their newest album:

Empty

Even Though Our Love is Doomed

Blackout

 Here are some of their older songs that they played which I like:

Sex is Not the Enemy

Push It

I'm Only Happy When It Rains

I Think I'm Paranoid

Stupid Girl

The World is Not Enough (Bond movie song)

Bleed Like Me (the title track of my favorite Garbage album)

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Blondie's show, as the headliner, had videos play in the background for their performance. I understand that videos can be effective during concerts (like when they played old videos of the drummer playing while he was playing a solo live), but sometimes I think they are a bit gimmicky, distracting you from the music (Let's face it: Debbie Harry doesn't sound like she used to). But she did have great energy, and she did take a moment to talk about saving bees (an important ecological issue), so I did appreciate that (along with her cape that read "Stop Fucking the Planet").

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I didn't realize how many Blondie songs I knew! You'll recognize these for sure:

Call Me

One Way or Another (which always makes me think of Coyote Ugly)

The Tide is High

Heart of Glass

The music at this concert was great. It was too bad the weather was lousy. But I'm glad we stuck it out!

Click here for another review of the concert (including the full set list).