Words by Gordon Lamb and photographs by Mike White
Looking back over the live reviews I’ve done across the past year or so, a pattern emerged where there’s a whole lot of resume parsing and legacy analyses. Much like trying to squeeze a square peg in a round hole, it’s unreasonable to hold live performing artists to the same exacting standards as a solid up-and-comer. It’s similarly unreasonable to allow legacy artists a free pass for simply standing upright and walking out onstage. It’s a right task, though, to split this difference and retain any semblance of honest reporting.
That said, Joan Jett is someone I’d wanted to see for decades. I’ve never been a gigantic huge fan, but have always enjoyed her records, remember well her MTV heyday, and her place in the rock-and-roll canon is unimpeachable. The overwhelming majority of her work is centered on pop-hooked guitar riffage, and her current incarnation of her band, The Blackhearts, carried the weight of this legacy easily. But they didn’t have to carry it very far because Jett is more than capable of making her own musical case. She set the mood before even walking out by having both Wanda Jackson and Bikini Kill playing over the PA as her band readied itself. And then, through a tight 15-song set, she proceeded to demonstrate her staying power in an industry that has both raised and lowered her at least three times in the past 50 years. Steadily plowing through her a rock-solid set that included The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb” as well as her popular covers, including “I Love Rock-n-Roll,” “Crimson and Clover” and “Everyday People.” She closed with “Bad Reputation,” and it’s still pretty clear that, even after all these years in and out of the spotlight, she still doesn’t give a damn.
Now, Billy Idol, even in his punkiest of punk days, has always bent more toward entertainer than true rebel. And guitar hero Steve Stevens is still in his band, which was one of the coolest things to see this night. After Jett had capably warmed everything up, Idol didn’t exactly set it all on fire, but he did keep the heat up and played his expected hits as well as a couple of surprises. For example, I really wasn’t expecting him to pull out his cover of “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” He did explain, however, that he’d recorded it decades ago for 1983’s Rebel Yell album, but then found out Madonna had also recorded it and was planning on putting it on her 1984 Like A Virgin album, so he dropped it. It’s understandable, too, because it wasn’t all that great when he did it. A similarly dead spot in his set came much later when he pulled out “Hot In The City,” which is just a poorly written song that should have been thrown away before it was ever stood up in front of a microphone. But those are exactly the only moments in his show I’d have jettisoned.
Pretty much every expected hit was performed exactly how the crowd wanted it. Recognizably with clear audio and each song introduced. I could have done without the introductions—I prefer for bands to just rip through it and not pause all the time—but I understand the breather for which they allow. Even so, the only major pause in Idol’s show was the guitar-medley performed by Stevens where he played the familiar passages from Led Zeppelin’s “Over The Hills and Far Away” and “Stairway To Heaven” (which he abandoned after a few bars and waved his hand as if to say, “Nah, I’m not playing that”) and Van Halen’s “Eruption.” This kind of thing is totally unnecessary, and was this night as well, but for some reason didn’t bother me as much in person as it does on paper. I’d been wondering if Idol was going to pull out any old Generation X songs, and I’d anticipated he’d play “Dancing With Myself,” which he’d turned into a nice solo hit, but was quite pleased to hear him trot out ‘Ready, Steady, Go” as well. Of course, he dutifully delivered on “Rebel Yell,” his cover of “Mony, Mony”—complete with the audience performing the now-legendary (yet completely unofficial) response lyrics—”Flesh For Fantasy,” “Eyes Without A Face” and “Cradle Of Love.” He closed it all out with “White Wedding” which, honestly, was only one of two songs he could have possibly ended with, the other being “Rebel Yell,” but he’d already done that.
At the night’s close, neither Jett nor Idol received a free pass nor did they require any comparison to younger artist’s stamina or delivery. Jett was the most workman-like in her approach, which wasn’t surprising, and Idol was still very much Billy Idol even as he approaches his seventh decade. But just like I said to Mike White when Idol removed his shirt a couple of times (“Hey Mike, you know the only reason a 69-year-old man takes off his shirt in public? Because he can.”), he has not worn out his welcome nor noticeably softened. Ultimately, although completely entertaining and definitely containing all the elements that would make this a “show,” it was like seeing two old pros simply go to work.
Billy Idol
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