Garbage / Blondie – Mystic Lake – Prior Lake MN July 21st 2017

Garbage and Blondie

The Rage And Rapture Tour Mystic Lake Casino, Prior Lake Minnesota 7/21/17

I have been looking forward to this show for months. I’ve been a Garbage fan since their first album in 1994 and a huge Blondie fan since 1977. You might say that this is a dream tour for me because I like both bands so much. When people would ask me to describe Garbage, I would say they are like a mixture of Blondie and Cheap Trick.

There was an opening act for these two iconic bands that night. Members of the punk band X, John Doe and Exene Cervenka. I’ve seen X before and have never been that big of a fan, I have always felt their songs were weak and John Doe has always struck me as a bit of a cockwad. To me, this was 30 minutes of my life I will never get back. It’s interesting with music how when you strip it down to just an acoustic guitar and vocals, it exposes a complete and total lack of talent in this case. Exene couldn’t sing on key to save her life. Her quirky little ridiculous punk songs like Skin Deep Town, sound even worse now than in the past. I was not the only one who felt this way because I spoke with several different people in between bands. All of them were questioning why they were even there and commented on how awful they were. I am truly sorry Shirley Manson if you read this but I must be honest. You are always so incredibly supportive of the bands you are on tour with, which is a good thing.  This time though, I have to disagree.

Garbage as always put on an incredible show. Shirley Manson’s vocal ability is second to none in the music world. The sound that comes out of just four bandmembers is incredible. I would also go on to say that I feel that all of Garbage’s albums are among the best sounding records I’ve ever heard. They did several songs off of their latest album Strange Little Birds including the biggest hit off that record Empty. A highlight for me was a song off their third release Beautiful Garbage, Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go). It was also fun to see them add Push It back into the set list as well as the James Bond title song The World Is Not Enough. They even played the title track off their fourth release Bleed Like Me.

For any of you that are going to see this tour specifically for Blondie, I highly recommend you show up a little bit early and check out Garbage. I promise you they will not disappoint and will make you a fan. I’m never disappointed in their set list because every time I see them, they do something different. That’s always exciting for a fan of the band to not see the same set list over and over.

Blondie is a band that I haven’t seen in many years and was not sure what to expect. The last time I saw them, they seem like they were mailing it in. Not the other night, they were fully engaged and look like they were having a wonderful time. It was a treat to sit and watch Debbie Harry do what she does best, entertain the audience. At age 72, she still has it. She has one of the most unique and incredible voices in the history of rock ‘n roll

They did all of hits you would expect them to do which was actually, the least impressive part of the show. I was really taken by some of the newer music that they have been doing. I would say a highlight for me were two songs off the new record called Too Much and Fragments. I fully intend to go out and buy the new CD and give it a spin. The version of call me was outstanding as well as their version of Atomic. The end of the night with Dreaming off their 1979 release Eat To The Beat. In my personal opinion, that record is their best.

They had a great stage show complete with three screens and all types of animation and other videos running along with the songs. This is the best I’ve seen them perform in many years. From the looks of it there having a fun time and embracing the new record.

If you like either of these bands or both of these bands, make it a point to get out this summer and see this tour. It’s truly an incredible bill that you won’t regret going to. However, take my advice and show up just a little bit late and save yourself the pain of having to sit through the opening act. Trust me, you will thank me.