Blondie & Cyndi Lauper – Gig Review 12th April @ A Day On The Green Kings Park, Perth WA

Blondie & Cyndi Lauper
A Day On The Green
Kings Park, Perth WA
April 12th, 2017
Supported by: The Clouds

Perth’s beautiful Kings Park was the last stop for the double headline tour for Blondie and Cyndi Lauper. It’s an idyllic setting, a natural amphitheatre nestled in the bushlands of WA’s famous park. A big early crowd meant it was a struggle to find a good spot before the bands took to the stage.

One thing the early crowd got was a treat in the form of Sydney indie rock legends The Clouds. Jodi Phillis and Trish Young proved that age had not wearied them, the jangling guitar and beautiful harmonies sounding as good as they did in their 90’s heyday.  Let’s hope this isn’t just a one off tour. The 21st century could do with another good dose of indie rock.

How do you welcome New York’s best post punk bands? With a cacophony of sound then launching straight into ‘One Way Or Another‘. Ladies and gentlemen, Blondie has arrived. How do they sound? Who cares? It’s 2017 and I’m actually seeing Blondie live! Interestingly, new single ‘Fun’ sounds better live than the recorded version, so that slight cringe you feel when a band announces they’re playing a new song was quickly dispelled. With no time for a breath the band launched right into ‘Call Me‘… and punters were officially losing their shit. Can Debbie Harry still hit those high notes? Not every time, but who can at 71? It doesn’t matter because there’s a fucking  keytar solo. Everything Pseudo Echo did to kill the instrument was magically undone, and it’s never sounded so good.

The hits kept coming with the rapturous ‘Rapture‘ as the blonde one cast her spell over the Perth crowd, drawing everyone in, making it impossible to get swept up in the atmosphere. With the new album Pollinator due for release soon, two more new songs followed – a brave move by any band but one Blondie managed to pull off. After Debbie Harry used the first few songs to warm up, her voice by now was in full flight, just in time for the monster hit ‘Atomic‘.

Dear Lord, when I’m 71 I want to look good as, sound as good as, and be as cool as – Debbie Harry.

The New York connection continued when the amazing Cyndi Lauper hit the stage. Unlike her fellow New Yorker Cyndi didn’t need any warming up, hitting every note right from the first song. ‘She Bop‘ – and she did – breathing new life into the saccharin sweet 80’s hit. Lauper is just a bit mad, and very very New York.  After tearing though a couple of covers including the Patsy Cline hit ‘Walking After Midnight‘ we were regaled with a story involving cockroaches, Nashville and Dolly Parton.

As humorous as the stories are, her strength lies in the music. She’s a little bit country, a little bit rock n roll and all class. Ripping through the classic ‘The Goonies R Good Enough‘ from Goonies bought memories flooding back, to a time when movies meant something and pop music wasn’t just formulaic bullshit and reconstituted garbage from television karaoke shows.

Introducing ‘Time After Time‘ is complete with a beautiful story of feminism, a Nobel Laureate and a  guy losing his virginity in a way only Cyndi can. It was amazing, beautiful and had the Perth crowd in raptures, followed immediately with ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun‘ which at that stage had everyone losing their shit. Comfortable low back chairs, cheese boards and Chardonnay was all forgotten as everyone leapt to their feet and danced like no one was watching. If that wasn’t enough, Lauper saved the best till last, finishing the night with a stunning vocal only performance of ‘True Colours’.

Absolutely captivating is the best way to describe Cyndi Lauper’s performance at A Day On The Green.

Reviewed by Gareth Williams

Photo Gallery courtesy of Kim Anderson.
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