I went to the Billy Idol concert in San Jose last night. Let me start by saying that I've seen Billy before, and I had no doubt that it would be a great show. Given that he's no spring chicken anymore though, I figured it would be a bit tamer.
I was blown away by just HOW GREAT a show it was.
Billy, Steve, and the whole band were smoking. Really tight.
Steve played a lot of his solo stuff from Flamenco a Go Go, which was surprising. I think most of the audience had no idea what he was playing, but they were pretty mesmerized anyway. Gave Billy a rest from time to time cause he was gonna fall dead from exhaustion.
The interaction with the crowd was great. The pit was right up to the front of the stage, and Billy and Steve were interacting with fans constantly. Even signing shit people were throwing up there without missing a beat.
They played all the rocking tracks off the new album and most of the classics. The new tracks sounded much better live!
The finale was pretty impressive, but I won't publicly spill the beans on that in case anyone is planning to see the tour.
I'm 31, but I felt like a granpa at this show. I think about 80% of the fans were kids under 14 with their parents. They weren't even alive when Billy was big. Kinda weird. I guess pop-punk is sorta making a revival and ol' Billy is the grand-dad.
For the heavier stuff Steve played a variety of Les Paul Customs, except for Rebel Yell where he played an EB MM and as usual all the softer stuff was on a Godin.
With no opening acts, no commercial sponsor bullshit, and only $35 a ticket (plus $80 in service charges...), it was a really great event.
I was blown away by just HOW GREAT a show it was.
Billy, Steve, and the whole band were smoking. Really tight.
Steve played a lot of his solo stuff from Flamenco a Go Go, which was surprising. I think most of the audience had no idea what he was playing, but they were pretty mesmerized anyway. Gave Billy a rest from time to time cause he was gonna fall dead from exhaustion.
The interaction with the crowd was great. The pit was right up to the front of the stage, and Billy and Steve were interacting with fans constantly. Even signing shit people were throwing up there without missing a beat.
They played all the rocking tracks off the new album and most of the classics. The new tracks sounded much better live!
The finale was pretty impressive, but I won't publicly spill the beans on that in case anyone is planning to see the tour.
I'm 31, but I felt like a granpa at this show. I think about 80% of the fans were kids under 14 with their parents. They weren't even alive when Billy was big. Kinda weird. I guess pop-punk is sorta making a revival and ol' Billy is the grand-dad.
For the heavier stuff Steve played a variety of Les Paul Customs, except for Rebel Yell where he played an EB MM and as usual all the softer stuff was on a Godin.
With no opening acts, no commercial sponsor bullshit, and only $35 a ticket (plus $80 in service charges...), it was a really great event.
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