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Billy Idol had only performed three songs Friday night at the Saddledome when he made mention of his grandkids.
He apparently wanted to see them before setting out on his Canuck tour but couldn’t because they all came down with the “(expletive) Coronavirus.” It was a handy intro into Song No. 4, the only new number he played out of 15 tunes Friday night. Cage is apparently about COVID-19 lockdowns, but it still sounds like it could have sprang from 1983’s Rebel Yell. Mentioning his grandchildren served as a sturdy if perhaps unnecessary reminder that four decades have past since Idol hit his commercial peak as a snarling rock-star with punk-rock trimmings and an image custom-made for the video revolution.
The tour celebrates the 40th anniversary of 1983’s Rebel Yell and found Idol and his six-piece backup band cranking out seven of the nine tracks from that album, plus a cheerfully trashy synth-punk take on Rose Royce’s 1978 weepy soul ballad Love Don’t Live Here Anymore that was apparently a long-lost outtake from those sessions. Like many oldie acts who find themselves back in stadiums, Idol offered an infectious throwback concert would fill even the biggest appetite for nostalgia that audiences seem to possess these days. That included a backdrop that combined MTV-ish imagery of stacked televisions carrying image’s of Idol’s younger years with a Metropolis-inspired cityscape. It included extra-long guitar solos and, most importantly, a fairly generous helping of hook-filled hits.
The 68-year-old still likes leather. He still likes performing bare-chested. He still has the peroxide-blonde spiky hair and he still lets f-bombs fly with unabashed frequency. But his sneer seems to have been largely replaced by a more congenial “I’m-your-mate” vibe as he showed some very unpunk-like politeness and gratitude to the crowd. The good news is that, unlike some of his peers of a similar vintage, Idol’s voice is still more-or-less intact. It was occasionally overpowered in the mix Friday night, whether by design or due to the Saddledome’s uncooperative acoustics. But, for the most part, Idol’s baritone can still pack o a punch and seemed to particularly shine on that aforementioned Rose Royce cover. That said, Idol and co. kicked things off with two of the more obscure tracks from the album, including (Do Not) Stand in the Shadows and Cradle of Love before leading the night’s first sing-along moment with the melodramatic synth-goth hit Flesh For Fantasy. With the exception of the melodic Blue Highway, deep cuts and minor singles such as Daytime Drama and Catch My Fall went a long way in proving that Idol, or perhaps his record company, were astute when it came to deciding which songs to push out onto the airwaves.
Those hits have held up remarkably well. Eyes Without a Face may be a little more croon-y than I remember, but there is a reason why it’s still a moody staple of classic-rock radio. A roaring take on Rebel Yell was followed by a three-song encore of earlier hits such as the disco-punk classic Dancing With Myself, scorching Hot in the City and snarling White Wedding, which still may be Idol’s high-water mark. He also led the band through a suitably lively take on his 1981 cover of Tommy James & The Shondells Mony Mony. Yes, the crowd enthusiastically remembered to bark out those obscenely naughty unofficial response lyrics that we all not-so-boldly chanted at school dances back in the 1980s (There was safety in numbers. It’s not like they could suspend all of us.)
Guitarist Steve Stevens got plenty of time to show off his deft skills as well. He followed his fleet-fingered acoustic-guitar intro of Eyes Without a Face with a savvy flamenco-style showcase played with precision, speed and humour (slapping his own hand during the opening riffs of Stairway to Heaven was a nice touch). It’s only fair that he receive ime in the spotlight. Stevens’ guitar sounds helped engineer Idol’s new-wave-meets-punk-lite sound and he co-wrote some of of the biggest hits on Rebel Yell.
Speaking of punk-lite, Idol could not have found a more perfect opener for his Canadian dates than Platinum Blonde. When Rebel Yell hit big in 1983, Platinum Blonde were finding similar success in Canada after sanding down their punk-leanings into a dance-rock, new-wave formula. At 64, vocalist-bassist and sole original member Mark Holmes took to the stage with energetic rock-star moves. His once formidable spiky and teased hair may be tamed these days, but he can still twirl and dash about the stage with the best of them. His pouty vocals still sound great over the ringing, reverb-heavy guitar licks and homegrown hits such as Standing in the Dark and Doesn’t Really Matter sound as good and cheesy as you remember them. Some, like Somebody Somewhere and Hungry Eyes, may even sound better than you remember them.
Punk purists and taste-makers from the early 1980s always viewed Idol and his ilk with some cynicism and not without reason. He was no Joe Strummer. His success hastened punk rock’s quick trudge to the mainstream. But, 40 years later, none of that seems to matter. The hits still bring audiences to their feet, albeit at times begrudgingly among some of the folks sitting in my section. But there was evidence Friday night that Idol’s older fans have introduced their kids and grandkids to the bombastic brilliance of Idol’s best tunes. So, if he is not too busy hanging out with grandkids, maybe Idol will return in 10 years to celebrate his most famous album’s half-century anniversary.