Concert Review: Billy Idol, Western Springs, 19 January 2020

Billy Idol is 64 years old. At least that’s what his Wikipedia page says. I have no reason to doubt it… other than what I witnessed at Western Springs last night.

Last night, Billy took the stage at Western Springs just after 9pm and rocked the place like someone a third his age. He came roaring out of the back line of instruments with his fist raised (in classic Billy Idol form), belting out Cradle Of Love. The band, with guitarist extraordinaire Steve Stevens, was in fighting form, giving Billy plenty of power to sell his songs to the assembled throng.

One of the great pleasures of watching Billy Idol perform (I saw him 5 years ago as well) is the fact that he clearly loves the songs that became hits. Never even once did it feel like he was just trotting out an old warhorse like Flesh For Fantasy or Ready Steady Go, just because he knows the fans want to hear them. No, his performance is such that you’d believe that Billy Idol would sing these songs to himself if no one else was watching.

Of course we were watching.

The crowd was well-behaved, yet enthusiastic, singing and dancing along to every tune. They got especially riled up when Steve Stevens launched into one of his guitar solos. No doubt about it, the man can play.

Highlights for me were Ready Steady Go, Soul Standing By and, of course, White Wedding. The only tune that seemed to lack a bit of the energy was Eyes Without A Face… never one of my faves anyway.

This was truly an amazing display of talent and pure rock and roll energy. I can’t imagine any other 64 year old putting on a show like this.

Kudos to the two opening acts I caught. Both Elemeno P and Stellar* did fine jobs of warming up the crowd. Stellar* were particularly outstanding thanks to their classy performance and excellent songs. And let’s face it, Boh Runga is a pretty cool front woman.

Marty Duda

Billy Idol

Stellar