This past Thursday night I headed to Burgettstown, PA with my buddy and bandmate Chuck Oney to see Billy Idol at The Pavilion at Star Lake on his current “It’s A Nice Day to…Tour Again” Tour.
The tour started in early August and I think it was originally announced that Joan Jett was going to be the opener for the tour, but I had not heard anything definitive about an opening act for the PA show.
So, just prior to leaving for the show, I did some digging around and it looked like DEVO had been added to the lineup. Wow, what a surprise.
I love Joan Jett but I have seen her a dozen or so times and I have only seen DEVO one time prior and that was about 16 years ago at the Ohio State Fair.
Once we arrived at the Pavilion at Star Lake, it was confirmed when we saw people getting out of their cars wearing DEVO Energy Dome hats. Get ready for some De-evolution.
I had never been to The Pavilion at Star Lake before and it was a blast from the past, old-school shed. It had a cool vibe, and it was packed.
I won’t go through all the details, but DEVO were amazing and played a full set with all their production and several costume changes. So good.
Billy is a true rock star and can still belt out those famous screams. He had guitarist Steve Stevens along for the ride and Steve was shredding all night long.
Billy played a hit packed set with a couple lesser-known songs thrown in, but for the most part it was a sing-along from start to finish.
If you get a chance, go see this tour. It is coming to Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls on September 13th. Highly recommended.
I thought I would leave you with a few Billy Idol songs that weren’t the hits or MTV staples but are well worth investigating…..
“STILL DANCING”
This track comes from Billy’s most recent album Dream Into It.
I love when legacy artists keep releasing new music and this song proves Billy and Steve Stevens still have the magic.
“DO NOT STAND IN THE SHADOW”
A deep cut from Billy’s Rebel Yell album. It says a lot when the songs in between the hits are just as strong. Rebel Yell was loaded with hits like “Eyes Without A Face,” “Flesh For Fantasy,” “Catch My Fall” and the title track but “(Do Not) Stand In The Shadow” was always a personal favorite.
“KISS ME DEADLY”
This track goes back to Billys early punk roots with his band Generation X.
I remember seeing the video for this song on Night Flight in the mid-80’s and I had no idea about Billy’s history before becoming a solo artist. I recorded this video onto a VHS tape and I would rewind to watch it over and over.
“DEAD ON ARRIVAL”
A deep cut from Billy’s debut album.
“CAN’T BREAK ME DOWN”
Great track from Billy’s 2014 album Kings and Queens of the Underground. In another time it would have been a chart topper.
“REBEL LIKE YOU”
Another newer track. This one comes from The Cage EP.
That’s just scratching the surface. Billy has made a lot of great music over the years and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
If you get a chance, check out his documentary, Billy Idol Should Be Dead. It’s great.
Check out the trailer below.
Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus bands Max Static, Radio Tramps and Unmasked OH! He is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly-lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.