Article and Photos by Andrés Alvarado
Ladies and gentlemen, Billy Idol is still roaming city to city and kicking ass on stage. The English sexagenarian carried his latest tour onto Atlanta’s Coca-Cola Roxy to gargantuan expectations from a packed house; looking to relive those dynamic punk-rock days of yesteryear. Long story short, Billy is a master! Billy, FUCKING RULES!
Visually, everything about Billy and his mates’ pageantry is pleasing. Idol, dressed in dark attire, is fan-friendly from the get-go. Navigating the dais side to side, far and wide, this peroxide-blonde Englishman makes it a point to visit every angle and get close to his lucky fans in the front. Musically, the notes are tight, and the rock-star idiosyncrasies come by the ton. Lead guitarist Steve Stevens has it all! Tall hair? Check! Smokes as he shreds? Of course! How about the mannerisms that get the masses riled? You know it! The Idol/Stevens duo is top-notch, at their age, they put their junior contemporaries to shame. Young musicians, take note!
Adding fuel to the fire are bassist Stephen McGrath, rhythm guitarist Billy Morrison, drummer Erik Eldenius, and keyboardist Paul Trudeau. Together, this quartet rarely takes the spotlight, but their contributions do not go unnoticed. The added variables these four bring to the table are the right amount of oomph needed to go from a good show to a great one.
Among the highlights are Billy’s tendencies to not only deliver flawless tunes, but also souvenirs. Autographed frisbees and drumsticks shower onto rowdy onlookers fighting to take home a badass relic. Then, of course, performances of classic anthems like “White Wedding,” “Mony, Mony,” “Dancing with Myself,” and “Rebel Yell.” By night’s end, it was apparent that the Idol fan-base went home with the memories of Billy’s fist-pumps and wacky snarls. We can surely assume these same fans drove home jamming to those classic punk jams made legendary by Billy “fucking” Idol.
LoudSound Magazine 