Face it. No matter who her band may be, whether the arty Jazz Passengers that she's been singing with in recent times, this newly reformed conglomerate, or Scooby Doo and Shaggy themselves, for that matter... Deborah Harry's commanding presence is the show. She is Blondie. From her initial walk onstage to the final encore, all eyes were focused on her. And what an eyeful it was!

A few pounds heavier and a little more mature than on their last go around, draped in an extremely tight black rubber knee-length skirt and form-fitting T-Shirt with the logo "Vultura" on it, Harry showed no signs of slowing down with age. Tunes like "Atomic" and "Sunday Girl" were delivered with the same panache that made this band stand out of the muck and mire back in the late 70s. Well thought out, tight arrangements, and an extremely capable group of musician&Mac226;s, made their music as vital as they were back then as well.

Chris Stein can still wail on guitar, Jimmy Destri's keyboard playing is still fun, his electric keys cranking out different sound after different sound, complementing the whole, exponentially. New guitarist Paul Campanero added his share of licks to the night, as did original drummer, Clem Burke, and another percussionist, uncredited and strangely hidden behind the drum riser, (as if the audience couldn't see him?). Not once was this unsung hero thanked or brought out front during the course of their almost two hour set.

Some slight changes, lyrically, added to the fun as well: "...dress me in designer clothes," from their huge hit "Call Me," became "...dress me in the fashion of the nineties," and a vocal scat break in "The Tide Is High," showed off Harry's years of experience singing with her alternate ensemble. Songs like "Rapture," heralded by many as possibly the first song ever to bring rap to a white, rock and roll audience, proved just how influential the band was, uh, sorry... is. All their hits were offered up: "One Way Or Another," "In The Flesh" and "The Tide is High," as well as new tunes like "Maria" and the jazzy, sedate "Boom Boom In The Zoom Zoom Room." Overall it was a fun evening, by a band that helped change the scene dramatically and drastically. It's nice to see them back in action and getting their due.

Openers, New York's own Dangerman, had a tough time, appearing sound-unheard to a crowd somewhat set in their ways, yet they made the best of it, performing some of the great songs from their debut disc more than capably. Band leader Chris Scianni showed us all how to use an electric guitar, and their fun tunes, like "High Heeled Sneakers," had a local sensibility to them that really made them a nice diversion. A big break for a great band, Dangerman deserves to be noticed.

The Toilet Boys added some bizarre fun to the evening, their lead singer vaulting onstage in merely a black leather jockstrap and boa. With shades of the New York Dolls and Jesse Camp thrown into the mix, they are an eclectic unit, featuring some blistering guitar work and machine-gun drumming. While their sound was most definitely derivative, you most certainly can't deny that this group is a good time rock and roll blast from the past (or is that future?) Blondie themselves requested their presence, so hey, that says something, doesn't it? The Toilet Boys surely have balls. (At least the lead singer made his perfectly evident!)

Blondie closed the evening off with encores of a Plasmatics song, "Sometimes I," as well as their all-time biggie, "Heart of Glass." A real fun night was had by all, to say the least.