This week on Revenge of the 80s Radio, we will feature new music from Stan Ridgway‘s recently released Neon Mirage album and Gorevette‘s Lustfully Yours CD. We will also play a previously unreleased track by August Darnell (Kid Creole) and classic tracks from artists including The Smiths, Let’s Active, Love & Rockets, Mental As Anything, Blancmange and The Clash.

Revenge of the 80s airs live on Friday nights 7-9ET on Q99.1FM in the Hudson Valley (www.wtbq.com); on Wednesdays 12noon Melbourne, AUS time on Radio 80s 87.6FM; Weekday mornings 7-9am AUS time on Seymour FM; Wednesday nights 6-8pm (Eastern US) and Saturdays 7-9pm on The Volt radio (Canada). Podcasts are available on Saturdays after the live show.

A concert featuring one of new wave’s iconic bands with a new alt-rock supergroup sounds like an excellent way to spend an evening. That is what a huge crowd at New York’s Nokia Theater thought as well when Blondie brought its “Endangered Species Tour” with special guests (and Revenge of the 80s favorites) Gorevette to the corner of 44th and Broadway on August 31st. They were right.

Gorevette took the stage first as the band continues its meteoric rise in notoriety as a group, although it helps when the band is named for two Detroit Rock icons, Nikki Corvette and Amy Gore.

The group, which also features bassist and shark enthusiast Lianna Castillo and drummer Al King, mixed music from their Lustfully Yours album with classic songs by Nikki and the Corvettes and The Gore Gore Girls.

Performing live, Corvette is amazingly able to segue flawlessly from singing in a tougher modern punk tone on new tracks like “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me” to her memorable higher pitch for Nikki and the Corvettes classics like “Gimmie Gimme” and “Girls Like Me” then back again while working the stage, interacting with band-mates and the crowd. Partner the aforementioned talents with her ability to make convincing eye contact with audience members, her combination of cuteness and power behind the mic and her stunning stage presence, the audience quickly learned there is something special about watching Nikki Corvette sing live.

Amy Gore is one of rock’s more intense guitar players as followers of The Gore Gore Girls would attest; it showed immensely at the Nokia, where the crew rightfully shined the spotlight on her during several of her solos. Gore is as fierce on stage as she is friendly in person as the band met with several new fans after their set. She wielded her trademark Gretsch White Falcon flawlessly and with the vigor for which she is best known.

Lianna Castillo continues to be the antithesis of the prototype bassist. She casts a solid bassline while dancing and moving on the stage with more energy than the cast majority of her rock counterparts. People at last night’s show should consider themselves blessed that Castillo missed the episode of the TV show Laverne & Shirley” where the room mates were coaching an up-and-coming band of work friends (Laverne said the bass player should be staring off into space in an almost disinterested fashion). Castillo’s moves and visible energy as a performer sets her apart from most of her fellow bassists as she interacts well with Corvette as she did at the Nokia.

Leading into the set was drummer Al King. He was as strong a musical presence from the his intro to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me” through the end. King has a talent for keeping the pace of such a high-energy show as Gorevette puts on stage. One might wonder how he can keep driving such a high-speed rhythm, but there is no need to question why Gore and Corvette chose him to play the skins for the band. The four members of Gorevette keenly complement each other both musically and on stage.

Blondie is touring to promote some of their newest music, which will be featured in their upcoming album, Panic of Girls. The group cleverly mixed their biggest hits with some cult classics, songs released in recent years and their newest tracks. The Nokia was packed with people who wanted to see them on a Tuesday night, which is always a tough night to get people to see a concert.

The current lineup includes three original members, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke. With them are guitarist Tommy Kessler, Bassist Leigh Foxx and Matt Katz-Bohen on the keyboards. While all of the musicians were excellent that evening, it is always good to see the majority of the band’s core still intact more than thirty years after their formation.

Harry captivated the crowd with her traditional brand of new wave elegance. While she was forceful vocally while singing “Atomic” and “One Way or Another,” she surprised some of her fans with a more low-key rendition of “Call Me” later in the show. She cheerfully interacted with the audience and let them sing along to more of the familiar choruses as the show progressed. Harry introduced the new music for her fans in ways that left them hungry for “Panic of Girls.” For the encore, she added her own graceful touch to some alternative classics, including, to this interviewer’s surprise, the Ramones’ “Pet Cemetery.”

As always, Stein was as impressive as always on the guitar. He and Harry continue to make a stellar songwriting and performing team. He was dynamic on the more guitar-heavy pieces while subtly enhanced the band’s presence on the mote synth-heavy songs.

Percussionist Clem Burke would be hard to replace had he not toured with Blondie in their present state. His signature work in tracks like “The Tide Is High” and “Atomic” would be missed, especially in the extended version Blondie played of the former.

Leigh Foxx was in control on the bass, which is the foundation for much of Blondie’s most popular work. Harry introduced him to loud applause from the dancing concert-goers.

The band stepped up astoundingly when it came to playing the more studio-dependent songs like “Rapture” and “The Tide Is High” with special long versions of each. They jazzed it up with solos from each member and Katz-Bohen was extraordinarily creative on the synth mixing his own musical prowess with dynamic pitch-bending effects. Blondie’s performance of “The Tide Is High” brought to mind my most recent interview with Andy Prieboy, when we spoke of Wall of Voodoo’s “Blackboard Sky.” He said that songs that can evolve differently and take on lives of their own when played live as opposed to the studio track. Blondie’s “Tide” at the Nokia proved that point well.

Blondie and Gorevette will continue to tour together through September with dates in various locations. Blondie is also heading to Australia later this year as part of its “Endangered Species Tour.” See their official web page for details.

As you may know, I am still recovering from retina surgery, so this week we are re-airing classic Revenge of the 80s show featuring our interview with actor and voice talent Eddie Deezen. Have an excellent week.

Tonight, as I still recover from eye surgery, we will replay a classic Revenge of the 80s show featuring an interview with actor Eddie Deezen. Enjoy…

Revenge of the 80s airs live on Friday nights 7-9ET on Q99.1FM in the Hudson Valley (www.wtbq.com); on Wednesdays 12noon Melbourne, AUS time on Radio 80s 87.6FM; Weekday mornings 7-9am AUS time on Seymour FM; Wednesday nights 6-8pm (Eastern US) and Saturdays 7-9pm on The Volt radio (Canada). Podcasts are available on Saturdays after the live show.

As for the podcasts, this Friday I will re-broadcast a classic Revenge of the 80s show and produce new ones beginning next week. I have several interviews that need to be rescheduled as well, and soon we will be back on track. Thanks again for visiting and listening. — Chris

Tonight on Revenge of the 80s Radio, in honor of Martha and the Muffins‘ 30th anniversary of their hit “Echo Beach,” we will play their newly-released 2010 version of the track. We will also have new music from Wang Chung as well as classic alternative cuts by REM, Fuzzbox, Kim Wilde, The Cramps and more.

Revenge of the 80s airs live on Friday nights 7-9ET on Q99.1FM in the Hudson Valley (www.wtbq.com); on Wednesdays 12noon Melbourne, AUS time on Radio 80s 87.6FM; Weekday mornings 7-9am AUS time on Seymour FM; Wednesday nights 6-8pm (Eastern US) and Saturdays 7-9pm on The Volt radio (Canada). Podcasts are available on Saturdays after the live show.

The inconspicuous Canadian new wave band that brought their hit “Echo Beach” across the border in 1980 is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the song with a very special release. Martha and the Muffins, who recent;y released the album Delicate, just released a new version of “Echo Beach,” which is available on iTunes along with another track, “Big Day.”

Muffins co-founder Mark Gane says of the recent edition of “Echo Beach:”

“We wanted to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the song, by not trying to replicate the version that we originally recorded, but as musicians who’ve experienced three decades of living. The new recording of Echo Beach is our “grown-up” version.” (from the Noble PR website)

Martha and the Muffins cane into their own in the Great White North in 1977. The original “Echo Beach” was written in 1978, two years before it became an international smash. Strangely, although they gained notoriety in the US with college and alternative radio airplay with the song, it did not chart in the 50 states. The Muffins’ only charter in the U.S. was 1984′s “Black Stations/White Stations,” which reached #64 in Billboard’s Hot 100 that year.

To release Delicate, the band opened its own record label, Muffin Music. It has earned rave reviews by critics. Still, the song written and sung from the point of view of a bored office clerk might have charmed that Jet Blue flight attendant fellow who went a bit bonkers earlier this week to the point where it may not have happened if he was able to pass the time away knowing he would be there again someday.

Tom Tom Club founders Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth will be releasing the band’s upcoming new album, Genius of Love, on September 28th. According to the band’s official website, Genius of Love will feature selected tracks from Live At The Club House as well as a Latin alternative remix tribute to “Genius Of Love.”

The Tom Tom Club will also tour this fall in support of the collection. Here is the current list of concert dates:

• 9/21 – StageOne – Fairfield, CT
• 9/22 – – StageOne – Fairfield, CT
• 9/23 – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
• 9/24 – Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
• 9/25 – Midpoint Music Festival – Cincinnati, OH
• 9/26 – Exit In – Nashville, TN
• 9/27 – The Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO
• 9/28 – Metro – Chicago, IL
• 9/29 – Mickey Finn’s Pub – Toledo, OH
• 9/30 – Phoenix Theatre – Toronto, ON
• 10/1 – Cabaret Mile End – Montreal, QC
• 10/2 – Higher Ground Showcase Lounge – Burlington, VT
• 10/3 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
• 10/8 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
• 10/9 – The Getty – Los Angeles, CA
• 10/10 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
• 10/12 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
• 10/14 Santos Party House NYC
• 10/16 Brooklyn Bowl NYC