Agora Ballroom, Wednesday, Nov. 21

Thanksgiving Eve tends to kick-start the holiday season but it didn't help this show, which took place in the Agora Ballroom. While fronting Blondie at the Blossom Music Center last summer, Deborah Harry sang to a full house. This show was a far more intimate affair.

When Harry strutted out in her "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll" T-shirt, black mini-skirt, red boots and beret, it was quickly apparent she's a commanding presence, whether performing on the small or large stage. While the audience was all ages, it was surprising to see patrons singing along to the new material on Necessary Evil, Harry's first solo effort in 14 years. The album has a very modern edge and its dance grooves make it a DJ's dream. There's no doubt that for the short time it's been available, people are tuning in and for good reason.

Harry challenged the audience to "work up an appetite for tomorrow," not a difficult task with new songs like "Necessary Evil" and "If I Had You" heating things up. Harry looked good as she held her studded cordless mic and led her young and very likable band into the 1986 ditty "French Kissin'." When an acoustic guitar came out, her beret came off and she tussled up her hair before agreeing to play two Blondie songs. What followed was a taunting "The Tide Is High" that segued right into "Heart of Glass." Harry's phrasing was superb, all natural, tongue-rollin' whispers that tempted you to hear the new appeal. "Lovelight" from Def Dumb & Blonde was a great groove and the high energy "School for Scandal" found Harry moving around the stage like a disoriented robot. The show was in high dance gear from that point forward with the guitar freak-out "Whiteout" closing the set. "Too Hot" and "Charm Alarm" proved Harry could leave on a high note, but it's obvious the sixtysomething singer isn't going anywhere. n

The Pipettes

Beachland Tavern

Tuesday, Nov. 20

For the packed-house Cleveland debut of new British '60s-girl-group revisionists the Pipettes, the gals' dance moves were as carefully coordinated as their outfits. Their set was preceded by a block of '60s outer-space novelty records culminating in a cacophony of sound effects and an electronically processed voice saying something indiscernible about the Pipettes to introduce them. Roughly half of the set's songs were from the We Are the Pipettes debut, with b-side and unreleased tunes for the rest. The girls' in-between-song banter poked fun at the lyrics' recurring themes - kissing and/or sex, love/romance and dancing - all or none of which may or may not be necessarily related to or prerequisites for the others.

Although the quantity and quality of dancing was limited by crowd density, and there wasn't enough visible kissing going on to the Pipettes' satisfaction, there was a strong connection across the audience with the performers. The songs are so spot-on catchy and the whole package so universally fun that the Pipettes warrant the same mainstream success as precedents like Blondie or the Go-Go's. But even if the Pipettes fail to give the US Top 40 a needed kick in the pants, such rabid audience response secures their status as one of this decade's most significant cult bands.

Like the Pipettes, local openers Afternoon Naps made the sort of bubbly, feel-good retro-pop ideally suited for a portable radio at the beach. Their male- and female-vocal sunshine pop added analog synthesizers, trumpet and bells to typical rock instrumentation, making them Cleveland's answer to bands like Apples in Stereo. The Naps' set lacked the Pipettes' sharp showmanship, marked by a limp and somewhat awkward stage presence. However, that lack of polish was outshone by the striking purity and sweet genuineness of a band caught up in the sheer joy of making music together. Considering that the Naps' debut, Sunbeamed, is impressively on par with an average 1990s Elephant 6 album, if they can avoid becoming jaded as they become more comfortably experienced, Afternoon Naps should go down in local-band history as one of our finest. - Michael David Toth

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Grog Shop

Wednesday, Nov. 21

The last time ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead played the Grog Shop, the power went out mid-set, and sent the concert into a downward spiral of trashed instruments. This time the power stayed on, making Trail of Dead's second-to-last date on a tour of mostly college campuses where they supported Dethklok (of Adult Swim's Metalocalypse fame) seem professional by comparison. This tour also found the band without label support of any kind, after recently ending their rocky relationship with Interscope. Without a new record to promote, it felt compelled to dip into its back catalog. Although reports suggest that it's begun recording its sixth record, it played nearly half of 1999's Madonna on this night, including "Aged Dolls," "A Perfect Teenhood," "Clair de Lune," "Totally Natural" and "Mistakes and Regrets."

Skewing the set list toward older material seemed like an odd choice, given that many of the fans in attendance were certainly more familiar with the band's work since its breakthrough, Source Tags & Codes. So while the Madonna cuts were a welcome nod to the diehards, it seemed like it lost the crowd's attention during those songs. Raucous versions of "Relative Ways," "Another Morning Stoner" and "It Was There That I Saw You" helped refocus the energy, as did "Caterwaul," which Jason Reece sang while standing in the midst of the audience. Perhaps the near lack of Worlds Apart and So Divided material was a subtle dig at Interscope, which in the band's mind did little to promote either record.

But at the end of the day, Trail of Dead wrote those songs and would've been hard-pressed to find anyone in the audience who would've argued with hearing a few more cuts from each record. Amidst all the lineup changes the band has undergone over the past few years - the core of Reece, Conrad Keely and Kevin Allen is still intact - the musicianship remains solid. The simultaneous drumming attack that the band featured during its last Cleveland appearance was only used once, on "Will You Smile Again?" The band has instead opted for a full-time keyboardist, which helped it more fully flesh out its material. - Jeremy Willets

Jagermeister Music Tour

House of Blues

Wednesday, Nov. 21

The Cleveland stop of the Jagermeister Music Tour was laden with gender-bending politics and plenty of booze. The show started more than 30 minutes early and caused even the earliest of concertgoers to miss the first band. That's too bad because the Cliks, hailing from Canada and fronted by the controversial Lucas Silveira, gave a charismatic and musically refreshing performance. One of the only female-to-male transsexuals to come to the forefront of the music biz, Silveira had no trouble hitting the high notes as well as the low. Reminiscent of the early Pretenders with the musical punch and fury of Hole, the Cliks proved to be one of the freshest and most listenable bands out there.

Action Action was completely the opposite. Completely cliche and not only visually dull but lacking in originality in sound, this band should have been up before the Cliks. Alas, they were not, and we had to endure close to 40 minutes of poser indie shenanigans before the Cult took the stage. Ian Astbury and the boys didn't disappoint. Prowling the stage like a shaman, Astbury enthralled the voracious crowd from the moment he took the stage. Ripping through classics from the band's entire catalogue, recent to ancient, the Cult pummeled the audience aurally and visually. Astbury's strong vocal ability hasn't faded with time nor has the Cult's intense musical prowess. Several tracks from its new album, Born into This, made it into the set, the most noteworthy being "Dirty Little Rockstar." The Cult hasn't strayed far from its psychedelic hard-rock roots with its new material, which is classic Cult in many ways while still sounding modern. The Jagermeister tour usually boasts metal acts and it was a true treat to see that good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll can still draw a huge crowd. - Lois Elswick