Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Live Nation (https://www.livenation.com/ )
Venue: Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (https://www.facebook.com/TalkingStickResortAmphitheatre/ )
Date: April 30th, 2025
Tour: It’s A Nice Day To…Tour Again
I have to admit that it’s kind of puzzling (and humbling) to see the level of continued interest in 2025 for the music of the 1980s.
Seeing a few Billy Idol fans last Wednesday night during his show at the Pavilion in their 20s and 30s sporting t-shirts of Guns N’ Roses, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper and Def Leppard simply reinforces that the greatest music transcends generations.
However, from the get-go it was clear that Idol had very little interest in merely cashing in on past glories. To his credit, he’s touring behind a new album called Dream Into It, which is Idol’s first full-length LP in ten years.
Kicking off the paltry 95-minute, 16-song set with new tune Still Dancing, it was actually refreshing to see an artist who’s been around for over 40 years that still believes in creating new music. Sales be damned!
Next up was Cradle of Love (from 1990’s Charmed Life). I should add that Idol’s band is considerably tight musically, which consists of longtime guitarist (and co-songwriter) Steve Stevens, rhythm guitarist Billy Morrison, keyboardist Paul Trudeau, bassist Stephen McGrath and drummer Erik Eldenius.
Last but not least, backing vocalists Jessica Childress and Kitten Kuroi gave the songs that extra “kick” they needed onstage. Dare I say, they upstaged Idol to a degree. Who knows… maybe he would even agree with that! But of course, I digress.
I chuckled a little bit during the third song of the night, Flesh For Fantasy (from 1984’s Rebel Yell) because it was a song that, truthfully, I completely forgot about. Having said that, time has been kinder to it than perhaps I’ve given it credit for.
Two more new songs followed from Dream Into It: 77 and Too Much Fun, respectively. While the majority of the (roughly) 8000 or so in attendance sat down during the “newbies”, there’s no doubt they fit in the set admirably alongside the classics.
Slightly off topic, that’s one thing that I do respect about Billy Idol. I was lucky to grow up during a time when a new album meant something. In the 80s, we consistently got a new album and a new tour from our favorite artists roughly every two years.
Sure, I’ll concede if one of my personal favorite songs was dropped from the live set I’d be bummed. However, I was more happy to see that bands actually had the desire to create new material. No matter how good or bad the albums were, or how well-received they were (or weren’t).
Like I alluded to earlier, it’s refreshing to see that Idol, in 2025 at age 69, is still passionate about creating and moving forward with new music. Speaking candidly, I wish many of the bands I grew up with who are still standing had the same mindset about their art.
Sadly (and frankly… shamefully), they don’t. But again, I digress.
Back onstage, Eyes Without A Face certainly gets the crowd on their feet again. Then it was time for guitarist extraordinaire Steve Stevens to take the spotlight for a few minutes. For better or worse.
Those who read BADS are well aware that I personally don’t care one bit for guitar and drum solos during live shows. In short order, I stopped caring about them by 1990. At that time, they were starting to fall by the wayside during live shows I attended. Since then, I haven’t missed them… at all.
However, I have to say that I was actually impressed with Stevens’ acoustic guitar solo. Frankly, it’s not very often you see someone playing a snippet of Van Halen’s Eruption… like I stated, on an acoustic guitar! I imagine that can’t be very easy, even if you are Steve Stevens.
To that point, what’s the greatest compliment I can give him? Simply put, Steve Stevens is to Billy Idol what the late Randy Rhoads was to Ozzy Osbourne.
Yes, he’s that exceptional, mostly because neither Stevens nor Rhoads ever forgot the importance of the song. With them, the playing always complemented the song, not the other way around.
I suppose it was inevitable for Idol to play his rendition of Tommy James & The Shondells awful Mony Mony. Frankly, I’ve never understood the appeal of that song– even to this day. He should’ve played Sweet Sixteen instead, one of the best songs Idol ever wrote …in my opinion.
Interestingly, the title track of Dream Into It sort of reminded me of Sweet Sixteen for some reason. It was perhaps the strongest of the new songs Idol performed.
Let’s not forget Joan Jett and The Blackhearts…
On paper, Billy Idol and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts really works well. Jett opened her 15-song, 1 hour set with Change The World followed by The Runaways cult classic Cherry Bomb.
I’m always struck by how many cover songs Jett has actually done over the years. Not to mention how diverse the artists are, from Gary Glitter’s Do You Wanna Touch Me to Tommy James & The Shondells Crimson and Clover to Sly & The Family Stone’s Everyday People.
If nothing else, Jett has an uncanny ability to make someone else’s material all her own. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if most of the Gen Xers in the audience heard Jett’s versions of those aforementioned classics first.
There was only one “new” song in the Blackhearts’ set, If You’re Blue, from the 2023 album Mindsets. However, there was another recent song, Different, off 2013’s Unvarnished.
In retrospect, when I hear a song like I Hate Myself For Loving You it reminds me less of Joan Jett and more like her former colleague in The Runaways, Lita Ford. Still, it goes down a storm live, in spite of its mediocrity.
By the time the Blackhearts get to their take on The Arrows’ I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll as well as final song Bad Reputation, Jett had the crowd in the palm of her hand.
All in all, it was a solid bill. For those who grew up with MTV during its first six years in particular, this just might be the tour of the spring and summer seasons for you.
The final verdict? Four out of five stars. I think you’ll like it.
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
