ACL Review: Billy Idol

At a surprisingly youthful 59, Billy Idol still has a tiger in his tank. Friday, it took a while to get his engine going.

The former William Broad sounded like he was holding back on opener “Postcards From the Past,” the cut from last year’s Kings & Queens of the Underground that sounds most like his classic years. Yet his voice was tentative throughout despite punctuation by his trademark growls and yells. The energy levels lifted when Idol and band – anchored by Rebel Yell’s sonic architect/guitarist Steve Stevens – launched into “Dancing With Myself,” the large crowd singing the “whoa-ohs” in the chorus unprompted.

Following another more perfunctory new tune, would-be radio hit “Can’t Break Me Down,” the former punk rocker stuck to the hits. Wisely pacing himself with moody crooners “Flesh for Fantasy” and “Eyes Without a Face,” Idol suddenly hit full power, ripping into his 1978 Generation X single “Ready Steady Go” like he was still 21. Sadly, the audience seemed nonplussed.

That changed, of course, with “Rebel Yell” and “White Wedding.” Even a couple of suspicious false starts on the former (Idol sounded so perfect on the third try that one wonders if it was all planned) didn’t dim the crowd’s urge to sing along, priming them for closer “Mony Mony.”

Oddly, an ill-advised cover of the Doors’ “L.A. Woman” was the only tune to demonstrate Eighties excess. Guitar wank and noxious synth solos would’ve been better left dead and buried. Otherwise, vital Idol sounded timeless.