Concrete Blonde returns to D.C. two decades after Bloodletting

June 15, 2010, at 930 Club

By Catherine McCarthy
Published: June 20th, 2010 | 9:30pm

On Tuesday night in Washington, Concrete Blonde’s bassist and frontwoman Johnette Napolitano took to the stage draped in swaths of dark cloth and littered with red roses. The band is currently on a month-long national tour to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of 1990’s iconic album, Bloodletting (re-released on Shout Factory this summer).

Bathed in pools of red light, Napolitano, guitarist James Mankey, and drummer Gabriel Ramirez appeared every bit the gothic romantics they were two decades ago on the same stage (minus ex-drummer Paul Thompson). Fittingly, they launched into the set with the album’s title track, “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song).”

While the audience skewed a generation older than the core fans of the juggernaut teenage vampire franchise of today, they did not disappoint Napolitano, as she deemed them her “vampire choir.” The celebratory choruses continued as Concrete Blonde played familiar hits like “Joey” and “Scene of a Perfect Crime.”

“I’ve really got to pump my shit up for this one,” said Napolitano before striking out the chords of “Ghost of a Texas Ladies’ Man.” The band made time for their cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows,” with lyrics repurposed to acknowledge the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: “Everybody knows that the boat is leaking / Everybody knows that BP lied.”

The affected communities in the Gulf were clearly on Napolitano’s mind that evening. “And I my friends,” she declared after howling through “Little Wing,” “am the head of Homeland Security!” As the crowd’s cheers settled, she said somberly, “This is a prayer for Louisiana,” before launching into “Heal It Up.”

Mid-performance, Napolitano took a moment to share her excitement over the arrival of hot-off-the-press copies of her new book, Rough Mix, which arrived in D.C. that same day.

“I’ve been jumping up and down all day like a little kid,” she told the audience. “The story behind this next song is in the book, about the last time I bought speed, in 1982 or ’83.” Arriving at the point of purchase, Napolitano said she found the peddler preoccupied with untangling a ball of twine—a task that had occupied his waking hours for three full days. “I decided then to never do speed again,” she said smiling as the band began to play “Run Run Run.” After closing the first part of their set with “Your Haunted Head,” the band returned to the stage for two separate encores.

“If somebody had told me twenty years ago that I’d be seeing you here tonight at the same club, I would have said, ‘Yeah, whatever,’” Napolitano reflected as she took the stage once again. Mankey traded out for an acoustic guitar before perching on a stool to her left. Napolitano swayed and spun in time with the music for “Mexican Moonlight,” before the audience joined her in singing “Happy Birthday.” She closed out the first encore on her knees, arms held wide as she belted out “Tomorrow Wendy.” Not willing to go out on a soft note, the members rejoined on the stage one last time for “Still in Hollywood.”

The evening’s opener, Jim Bianco, also makes an appearance in the pages of Rough Mix. A collaborator of Napolitano’s in the Los Angeles music scene, Bianco is a producer and singer-songwriter who is one of the founders of the legendary venue, The Hotel Café. His dark, sexually-charged acoustic songs about stalking, obsession, lust, and despair were the perfect precursor to Concrete Blonde’s macabre yet energetic set.

Johnette Napolitano will answer readers’ questions in our Fall 2010 issue of Venus Zine, out August 17.

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Concrete Blonde’s official site

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Shout Factory