Eighties Flashback At Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta

Friday night was a flashback of the eighties type at Verizon Wireless Encore Park. Rock Icon Blondie performed to a sparse but enthusiastic crowd. The concert was promoted by radio station B98.5 as Blondie for Boobies in support breast cancer awareness. 

Debbie Harry aka Blondie began her musical career in the 1960s. In the mid-'70s she met boyfriend and guitarist Chris Stein and formed the band. Over the next decade and a half the band achieved international commercial success in large part to the, better left to be forgotten, disco age by producing the chart topping albums "Parallel Lines," "Eat to the Beat" and "Autoamerican."

At Friday night's concert, Ms. Harry at the age of 66 looked great and sounded even better. Blondie played all of their major hits including a whimsical collage that started with the hit "Heart Of Glass" morphed into the Beasty Boys' "You've Got To Fight For Your Right To Party" and finished with "One Way Or Another."

Another eighties band, The Romantics, opened for Blondie.  Now, I saw The Romantics at the peak of their career and they were great.  Friday night the band was playing tight but the sound was not good. It was almost as if the sound crew had never worked with the band.

The night started on a melancholy note with 15-year-old Lexie Babin playing on acoustic guitar a song she had written about breast cancer survival. Lexie is a student at Milton High School and plays in the band Fear of Silence. Lexie, I believe, is destined for greatness.

All in all the show was a good flashback.