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Smith, Harry close out CBGB
With some help from Flea, iconic rock poet bids farewell to the famed music club that launched Harry's Blondie, Talking Heads, the Ramones, and many others.
Deborah Harry and Patti Smith, two of the biggest stars to launch their careers from the venerable CBGB in New York City, staged farewell concerts last weekend at the legendary punk-rock venue, which is set to close at the end of the month.
Deborah Harry
On Saturday, Harry, 61, performed many of the hits that made her band Blondie wildly successful in the 1970s and '80s, including "Hanging on the Telephone," "One Way or Another," a cover of the Ramones song "I want to be your Boyfriend," and the 1980 hit "Call Me," according to Reuters.
"This is a little weird, you know, but anything for old CB's," she told the capacity crowd that included young musicians, Blondie groupies, and aging rock fans.
"What are we going to do now? Where are we going to go?" she asked before launching into "Tide Is High."
One night later, rock poet Patti Smith--who played her first show at CBGB in February 1975 and early on became synonymous with the East Village venue and the American punk movement that was birthed in and around it -- gave a rousing, passionate performance to a packed-like-sardines crowd.
With her loyal band (Lenny Kaye on guitar, Jay Dee Daugherty on drums and bass, and Tony Shanahan on keys, bass, and guitar) providing a solid foundation, Smith paid fitting tribute to the club's 33-year history with a varied and fast-moving two-and-a-half-hour two-part set. It included takes on several songs by other punk artists the venue helped launch, including the Ramones, Blondie and Television.
Television guitarist Richard Lloyd made an appearance to perform his band's "Marquee Moon" in a quiet duet with Smith and sat in on several other numbers with the full band. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea offered up his own services on a long list of high-energy entries, including an inspired "Free Money," a vibrant "Birdland," and a raucous cover of the Who's "My Generation."
Other highlights: a hard-charging "Gloria" that weaved in the "Hey! Ho! Let's Go!" refrain of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop," a pitch-perfect take on the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes," and Smith's charmingly scattered storytelling, through which she shared special memories of CBGB and its patron saints.
Smith remained focused and upbeat throughout the majority of her performance but became emotional at show's end as she read a list of names of deceased figures who had played a prominent role in the club's history--like Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Thunders, and her own former bandmate Richard Sohl--and then shouted out a teary, emphatic "thank you" to CBGB owner Hilly Kristal.
While Smith's performance was the last the venue will host, CBGB officially closes its doors on October 31, some 14 months after a dispute with its landlord, the Bowery Residents' Committee, left the club without a new lease. A series of high-profile benefit shows plus vocal support from rock icons such as "Little" Steven Van Zandt and Elvis Costello failed to persuade the BRC to let CBGB remain in the space it has called home for 33 years.
The East Village club's full name is CBGB & OMFUG, or Country Bluegrass Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers. Kristal, currently undergoing treatment for cancer, has indicated plans to relocate the club to Las Vegas.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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