It's taken me years to come to the harsh realization that Garbage never got as far as they deserved, that they never played the very biggest venues and even occasionally were still an opening band, but it was still a surprise and perplexing that they never played the Hollywood Bowl. Maybe they could have pulled off headlining it back in the day, but especially now they had to be part of a shared bill, especially when they were still moving forward instead of chasing some '90s nostalgia thing that never hit as hard as the' 80s thing did (for better or worse). Putting Blondie on that bill might have split the difference between the two eras, but it was still two bands that made for a great show, even if a person weren't obsessed by one of those groups. There was never much reason to go out of the way to see Blondie, especially when they hadn’t shown up on festival line-ups, but they're probably a bucket-list band. But really, they were just extra frosting for seeing Garbage. Garbage by this point had probably gotten around to every venue in L.A. (if not the world, the tour dogs that they are), but playing the Bowl isn't usually about the size of the crowd that place can pull but connecting to the history, majesty, and notoriety of the most noteworthy performing space in the city, if not the world. Garbage probably appreciated that, at least, if not for the fact that they still had the pull to make it there, even if they weren't heading the bill. It's always a place threatening to envelop whoever's on stage but Garbage could trot out their hits and hold their own. We even got a song I didn’t know yet (the opener, a single, noting how they weren’t touring on a new album for this show). It might have been just another tour stop for Blondie (the band, not just Debbie Harry (as some radio DJs haven’t even gotten right)), who out-veteraned Garbage, and maybe they had even played the Bowl before, back in their heyday, but they still held up a good show, strolling through their hits while having the confidence in their new stuff (off Pollinator; not strong enough to continue their string of having a #1 hit in multiple decades) to play it alongside. It might have been inconsistent but with as many noteworthy songs as they have, there's only so much they can do in a tour through their history. “Hanging on the Telephone” was probably a gimme, though welcome (as my main reason to see them, even if it was just them), and they didn't bother giving it a lead-up by playing it early in the set, but they had enough other, more-recognizable songs, even if those weren't necessarily better. “Dreaming” wasn't a big hit, yet they left it to the end, a bit of a mellow lead out, but we left before it (during “Heart of Glass”), on a more spirited note (and just wanting to beat the exiting crowd). “Voices Carry” might be one of the most perfectly-recorded songs ever committed to tape, a song so exquisite that covering it should be a perilous risk, but Sky Ferreira (there without a recent release, probably just to pop up to play the Bowl) did her best to make it work. In a live setting its performed imperfections could be overlooked, as well as the guarded admiration in making the attempt, but as part of a set that didn't need to stick by an opener, and who we just happened to see when going in early after our picnic with Jen (who I arrived with, taking the shuttle over from Lankershim), Vanessa, Dave, Liz, and Liz’s family outside, it amounted to a novelty, albeit pleasant, for a nice evening at the Bowl with some rock from the eras.
Blondie’s set-list:
“One Way or Another“
“Hanging on the Telephone“ (The Nerves cover)
“Fun“
“Call Me“
“Rapture“
“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35“ (Bob Dylan cover)
“Fragments“ (An Unkindness cover)
“Long Time“
“Atomic“
“Too Much“
“Heart of Glass“
“Union City Blue“
“Dreaming“
Garbage’s set-list:
“No Horses“
“Queer“
“#1 Crush“
“Empty“
“I Think I'm Paranoid““
“Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
“Special“
“Cup of Coffee“ (with Inara George)
“Even Though Our Love Is Doomed“
“The World Is Not Enough“
“Stupid Girl“
“Only Happy When It Rains“
“Push It“
“Vow“
Sky Ferreira’s set-list:
“24 Hours“
“Ain't Your Right“
“Guardian“
“I Blame Myself“
“Voices Carry“ (’Til Tuesday cover)
“You're Not the One“
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