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| Shirley Manson of Garbage (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Saratoga's Mountain Winery audience was treated to a double-bill of female fronted bands last night when both Garbage and Blondie kicked off the first night of their new
US tour! Collectively, these two bands have sold over 57 million albums and each hit the road in support of their recent releases – Garbage’s
Strange Little Birds (iTunes) and Blondie’s
Pollinator (iTunes).
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| Shirley Manson & Butch Vig of Garbage (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Billed as the “Rage & Rapture” tour, Garbage hit the stage just after 7:15pm to an adoring crowd of fans and played through their hits while sprinkling in new tracks “Blackout”, “Empty”, and “Even Though Our Love is Doomed.” On several occasions, Shirley Manson commented on how special the night was for her and the band to open for Debbie Harry’s Blondie – a musician that Shirley credits for getting her through a bad break-up in her teenage years.
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| Nick & Shirley Manson (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
The night became truly special when Shirley walked off stage and into and around the lower bowl of the venue; stopping along the way to sing to (or with) fans in the audience. Unbeknownst to Shirley, one of the fans she stopped to sing with was a teenage girl attending her very first concert with her dad. And another fan with down syndrome was thrilled by the incredible 1:1 attention, and who even got a kiss from Shirley before she turned to head back to the stage.
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| Debbie Harry of Blondie (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Blondie hit the stage close to 9pm with Debbie Harry draped in a cape that read "Stop Fucking the Planet" and a tiara made of two large honey bees – a clear message aligned with their new album
Pollinator of the need to save the bees.
She belted out the Blondie anthems and kept the crowd moving through the set. Interestingly, there seemed to be a large overlap of fan bases between the two bands, with barely anyone leaving early once Blondie hit the stage -- and I'm sure anyone on the fence was quickly won over by Debbie & Co.!
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