With all the spectacle of the U2 show at the Sphere last Wednesday, it’s seems incredible that just two days later I saw Billy Idol and his sidekick guitarist extraordinaire Steve Stevens at the Chelsea Theater inside the confines of the Cosmopolitan casino. I have to admit to you, when the Rock Chick came up with this scheme to go see U2, what sold me was the ability to see an additional show while out in Vegas. I was hoping to spin up a little “Fear and Loathing…” It seems like every night there’s a rock n roll concert in Vegas and we timed our trip just in time to see Billy Idol. We could have opted for the Cult but we’ve seen them already in Denver and Kansas City on the Under the Midnight Sun tour so Billy Idol it was!

It had been five years since the Rock Chick and I last saw Billy Idol. In that time, he’s released two very good EPs, 2021’s The Roadside featuring one of his best ever songs, “Bitter Taste,” and 2022’s The Cage. I really liked The Cage EP and especially the title track, simply entitled “Cage.” That was good ol’ fashion Billy Idol/Steve Stevens raucous rock n roll. Billy did mention from the stage last Friday that he and Steve and the rest of the band are working on a new album but it’ll probably be 2025 (which he said as, “1925,” before quickly laughing and correcting himself).

Idol’s got a great band. The aforementioned Steve Stevens is an utterly underrated lead guitar player. The guy just shreds in that old fashion 80s rock n roll way. He’s augmented on rhythm (and occasional lead) with Billy Morrison. Steve McGrath is on bass, Erik Eldenius on drums and finally Paul Trudeau on keyboards and backing vocals. Although, unless my memory fails me, I think Trudeau added an additional rhythm guitar on the opening track before disappearing behind the keys. Billy also has two very capable young ladies singing back up for him as well.

The band burst onto the stage with an Elvis Presley cover, “Viva Las Vegas.” I feel like any rock band that plays Vegas, and I said this in my U2 review, has to tip the hat to the King. Presley’s ghost looms large over Vegas. He was the first big rock guy to play that town. It was a fun way to open the show. Idol was clearly not feeling well… he apologized for his voice at one point. I did notice he was drinking out of a big plastic bottle on the drum riser…and it looked like grape flavored Pedialyte. It’s come to this… once my rock stars drank out of Jack Daniels bottles, now it’s a medicine loaded with electrolytes. Despite being under the weather, Idol brought the rock n roll.

After “Viva Las Vegas,” the band rocked through “Dancing With Myself” a Generation X cover that Idol rerecorded early in his solo career. I think that song was on my Songs for Wallflowers playlist… Next up was a personal favorite, “Flesh For Fantasy.” I was really happy Idol played some of his new music – new song “Cage” was as ferocious as on record thanks to Mr. Stevens on lead. I hope the new album follows in this vein. Idol went back to Charmed Life for “Pumping On Steel.” The band sounded a little off on that one… I was hoping for “Cradle Of Love” from that album, but hey, if you’re going for a deep track, “Pumping On Steel” is a pretty cool song. Next up was, perhaps, my favorite Idol tune, the newer “Bitter Taste” complete with footage from the video behind the band. Idol, though not feeling well, was pumping his fist and wandering all over the stage. “You should have left me way back by the roadside…” Indeed.

After a great version of another favorite, “Eyes Without A Face,” the band left the stage and Steve Stevens rocked the house with a guitar solo. He went into a mini-Zeppelin piece with samples of “Over The Hills And Far Away” and yes, “Stairway To Heaven.” He stopped the “Stairway” quickly and slapped his hand… Hey, no “Stairway,” like Mike Meyers said in Wayne’s World. The band rejoined the stage and tore through “Mony Mony.” I was surprised they then launched into “To Be A Lover,” done very rockabilly. The ladies singing back up really shined during that number. It’s such a great song.

Idol introduced another new song from The Cage, “Running From The Ghost” as being about drug addiction. It’s another great rock song. At that point Idol dug back into his Generation X songbook for a track he said he hadn’t played since 1979, “Valley Of The Dolls.” It looks like he’s playing a different Gen X track every night. I wasn’t familiar with it but I liked it. Two banging tracks ended the main set – “Blue Highway” and naturally, “Rebel Yell.”

The encore began with another personal favorite, “Hot In The City,” and instead of yelling “New York” Idol yelled “Las Vegas.” The concert ender was a scorching “White Wedding” which the crowd went appropriately nuts for. For a guy not feeling well, in his sixties, Idol really rocked. I’d recommend this show to anybody who has a chance to see him. If you like rock n roll, Billy has what you need.

Who’d have thought we’d still be talking about Billy all these years later. If his next LP is as good as these last two EPs, I think we may have a Billy Idol renaissance on our hands! And that’s a good thing indeed!

Cheers!