Concert Review/Photos: Billy Idol @ Tower Theater
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Leather-clad, trademark sneer at the ready.
[ 1/24 ] This past Saturday, Idol and his band tore the roof off the sold-out Tower Theater with the hits — “White Wedding,” “Dancing With Myself,” “Eyes Without a Face” — and 13 other memorable tunes. Idol owned the crowd from the moment he stepped onto the stage. Leather-clad, trademark sneer at the ready, he ripped into a cut from his most recent record, Kings & Queens of the Underground, “Postcards from the Past.” The crowd wasted no time getting to its feet, which is where most people, at least on the floor, stayed for the entire night. Even though this was the first official show on the tour after two shows were postponed due to Idol being ill, he showed no signs of any wear; he was on fire through the last notes of Tommy James and The Shondells’ “Mony Mony.”
At the forefront of the band was longtime Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, who dazzled the crowd with an eight-minute guitar solo. Later he saluted his brother, who was in attendance, for being one of the main reasons he picked up the ax. And the stunning intro to “White Wedding” — just Idol and Stevens at the front of the stage — showed how in-synch they are as musicians and how willing they are to bring new ideas to such a classic work.
By the end, a shirtless Idol thanked Philadelphia for making his life “fucking great.” Rebel yells all around.
Indie rockers Broncho opened.
SETLIST
- Postcard from the Past
- Cradle of Love
- Can’t Break Me Down
- Dancing With Myself
- Flesh for Fantasy
- Save Me Now
- Ready Steady Go
- Sweet Sixteen
- Eyes Without a Face
- L.A. Woman (The Doors cover)
- King Rocker
- Whiskey and Pills
- Blue Highway
- Rebel Yell
ENCORE
- White Wedding
- Mony Mony (Tommy James and The Shondells cover)
