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Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center Executive Director Clare Bisceglia is most definitely a Blondie fan.
“Blondie is just quintessential cool!” she raved in a phone interview this week. “Debbie Harry was the first artist to rap on a record, and I mean, talk about icons: Blondie redefined the music industry, with their music, their originality, the way they dressed ... and they are still a powerhouse today.”
Blondie, the new wave/punk band fronted by the city-cool vocals and yes, platinum hair of Debbie Harry, will be taking the stage at the PAC on Sunday, September 5, at 8:30 p.m. The distinctively New York-based musicians of the band were part of the late ’70s post-punk scene, and quickly gained attention via their catchy, synth-laden songs, ironic lyrics, and undeniable fashion sense, which helped define the “hipster” term that continues today in the city and beyond.
Not only were Blondie’s own hit songs—including “Call Me,” “Heart of Glass,” and the rapping “Rapture” that Ms. Bisceglia referred to—to become classics, but they would also influence a second generation of musicians, from Madonna to Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson, who spoke at the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Ms. Bisceglia thinks that Blondie is the perfect fit to wrap up the successful 2010 PAC summer concert season.
“I mean, who doesn’t love Blondie songs like ‘The Tide Is High’ or ‘One Way or Another’?” she asked. “I actually saw them 30 years ago when they were in their heyday; they would perform all the time in New York City, at clubs like CBGB and Max’s Kansas City.”
“The Tide Is High,” is also being appropriated as the musical theme for the pre-show cocktail party on Sunday night, a special event included with the top-tier tickets for selected PAC concerts.
“We put on wonderful parties before some of the shows,” Ms. Bisceglia explained, “themed to the concert that they are prefacing. For this one, we are taking the Sea Breeze cocktail and revamping it as “The Tide Is High” signature cocktail in honor of the band. The cocktail party helps set the tone for a great evening, and what better way to end the summer?”
Meanwhile, music fans can rest easy: While the Westhampton Beach PAC may be ending its summer season, the Arts Center will continue to offer music, films, family shows and vacation theater camps into the winter. Ms. Bisceglia said that the 2010 schedule of events at the PAC has been texturally rich, from a cultural perspective, and that the PAC, in spite of the current economy, isn’t planning on slowing its pace, thanks in large part to broad support from the community.
“It’s been a solid season,” she said. “I’ve been very pleased with the caliber of artists who have graced our stage. It’s been a wonderfully diverse offering. In terms of ticket sales, it’s been a challenge this year, but we are holding our own.”
Ms. Bisceglia’s personal favorites of the 2010 summer season were as varied as the overall roster.
“Lyle Lovett and His Large Band were just brilliant,” she said, “Nineteen world-class musicians, and he is just such an artist. Bill Cosby, of course, is our generation’s Mark Twain. And Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, and Zakir Hussain,” playing banjo, bass and tabla, respectively, “gave me goosebumps; to bring those three diverse instruments together was amazing.”
She had high praise for the PAC’s film offerings as well.
“Our movie series was also a big success,” she said. “In the fall and winter it will continue, with most of the movies on weekends when we don’t have live performances. We’ve just ended the summer season with ‘Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky,’ which I was really looking forward to.”
The Finest in World Cinema series will resume in October, she said, with the schedule of films yet to be announced. She added that the concert series, while symbolically “ending” for the summer after the Blondie show, won’t pause for long.
“We don’t get much of a break,” she laughed. “We’ve got Ziggy Marley in concert exactly a week after the Blondie show, on September 12. So we’ll go right into our fall schedule—with much enthusiasm!”
Blondie will perform at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Sunday, September 5, at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $150, $175 or $200, available online at whbpac.org, by calling 288-1500, or in person at the Arts Center at 76 Main Street in Westhampton Beach.
on Aug 31, 2010