Blondie’s Back With a Show That Rises Above Nostalgia

Pausing between songs at the Universal Amphitheatre on Friday, Blondie’s singer Deborah Harry assessed the impact of the reunited band’s return after more than a decade away from the pop arena. “So, are we living up to our . . . reputation?” the iconic blond bombshell asked with playful venom in her voice.

The answering roar was an emphatic “yes” from the near-capacity crowd. With characteristic high energy and veterans’ precision, Harry and original bandmates Chris Stein (guitar), Jimmy Destri (keyboards) and Clem Burke (drums)--aided by an additional guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist--transported fans to Blondie’s late-’70s/early-’80s heyday, when the New York band’s blend of girl-group torchiness, punk-rock drive, new-wave irony and larger-than-life hooks conveyed an authentic image of underground cool while capturing the popular imagination, and even breaking ground with such hits as the hip-hop-flavored “Rapture.”

Despite her tight, knee-length skirt and silver sweater, the 53-year-old Harry’s matronly appearance somewhat belied her smoldering demeanor. Yet her deadpan, whisper-to-a-scream vocals and casual, lyrical ad-libs showed better nuance and control than ever, whether camping it up during the jazz-flavored “Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room” or making the sexually charged, disco-driven plea “Call Me” into an irresistible command.

Though the group played only a handful of tunes from “No Exit,” its first new album in more than a decade, the 90-minute show wasn’t merely a nostalgia revue. The single “Maria” and other new selections fit seamlessly between the opening percussive lines of “Dreaming” and the closing burble of “‘Heart of Glass.” Occasionally Harry updated a lyric, as if to acknowledge the band’s presence in a new era, but it wasn’t necessary to polish the old gems, which glittered almost as brightly as when first cut.

The set proved a potent reminder that Blondie always stood apart, first as an underground band that entered the pop pantheon while many of its peers had to wait until they had influenced the next generation, and now by challenging its own classic status, reviving its music with what has turned out to be a timeless sense of style.