Harry may be the toast of Los Angeles tonight, but she is and always will be a wise-cracking fly girl from New York City. Co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein had to bow out of this year’s fest - citing a heart condition called atrial fibrillation - but original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock held the line, rocking along with drummer Clem Burke as they retrofitted their sparkling dancefloor hit “Atomic” with a raucous surf-punk spiral, and spurred a singalong among the crowd for “Heart of Glass.” Sporting ginormous amber spectacles and a chunky red belt, platinum-coiffed punk icon Debbie Harry took her place front and center at the Sad Girls stage and led Blondie into a thunderous rendition of “X Offender,” from the band’s 1976 debut. His ghostly vibrato captured the crowd until the very end of his one-hour set, when the punk sneer of the Smiths’ “Sweet and Tender Hooligan” rocketed the headlining set to a close. As the king faced his court, dressed in a black suit and bow tie like a host at the Oscars, Morrissey stood defiant in front of the Cruel World crowd bellowing the lyrics of “Irish Blood, English Heart,” and we believed him when he said “there is no one on earth I’m afraid of.” Though he thankfully didn’t share any of his conservative political opinions from stage, he did nearly give late-coming fans a heart attack when he said “good night and thank you” after just two songs, only to come back moments later to continue on with the strutting pop beat of “Knockabout World.” He also gave us a handful of classics many young Moz fans may never have heard him sing live, such as “Suedehead” and “Everyday Is Like Sunday.” Perennial lyrics of youthful angst and self-discovery rang true with all generations of Moz fans, from the gray-haired goths to the kids who just bought their first Smiths t-shirt at Hot Topic.
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