She has teamed with Iggy, Elvis, Moby, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and Miss Guy (of Toilet Boys). She has spoken up and out on AIDS, the Human Rights Campaign, and even the incarceration of Lil' Kim. Her songs are now tracking a West End staging of Desperately Seeking Susan and racing up the dance charts everywhere. She has appeared in unsung indie flicks such as Spun, Cop Land, and Heavy, not to mention past turns in Cronenberg's breakout Videodrome and Waters's immortal Hairspray.
And though she has fronted both Die Haut and the Jazz Passengers, it will be for one band that she'll forever be known: Blondie. Yep, the ever divine Deborah Harry is coming to town, and though she won't have her fabled band in tow, it's a cinch her appearance will be one for the storybooks.
But it won't be all nostalgia. Sure, last time we caught the grand dame, she took us through her catalogue of hits, including "Call Me," "Heart of Glass," and "Hanging on the Telephone"; hell, she wouldn't be a showgirl if she didn't. But the punk/dance diva also proved she kept up with the times, and that she could keep up with any singer anywhere.
This Friday at the Fillmore Miami Beach, expect nothing less. Necessary Evil, her first new album since 1993's Debravation, kicks like a chick who knows what's what in the world — and what makes the world swing. "Two Times Blue," the record's dance hit, begins with a purr faithful to Marianne before exploding into vintage Debbie, all done up in dancedom's latest finery. And although "Whiteout" might be a wave to the punk of her Blondie brethren, "If I Had You" could have come straight from a contemporary radio playlist dominated by the likes of Avril and Ashlee.
Oh, and while you're at the concert, remember this: The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer may have been whisked away to New Jersey when she was just an infant, but the lass alas was born right here in Miami. Let's make this a homecoming she'll never forget. It's a bet she'll do likewise.
