TORONTO -- Very few people get a second chance to make it big in the music industry; hardly anybody gets a third. And who would ever have thought that Billy Idol, of all people, would be one of them?
Idol's first gig was fronting Generation X in the glory days of the London punk scene, circa 1977. After that fizzled, he disappeared for a while, resurfacing in the mid-'80s as a solo artist with a trademark sneer and an impressive string of MTV rock hits. And now, two decades after that, despite drug problems, motorcycle accidents and weak followups, here he is back again with a new album, Devil's Playground, and damn it if he doesn't rock almost as hard as ever.
When Idol roared onstage at Kool Haus last night, it became clear what he's been doing in his down time -- working out. "I don't think Johnny Rotten looks like this," the 49-year-old singer crowed, shedding his T-shirt and showing off his buff physique. It was easy to forgive his braggadocio, since he seemed to be savouring his moment so gratefully and enjoying himself so thoroughly. Backed by longtime guitarist Steve Stevens and an energetic new rhythm section, he enthusiastically ran through a set that alternated between new songs like Rat Race, World Comin' Down and Scream -- with its ridiculous Zeppelinesque lyrics ("Climb up my lemon tree") -- and old favourites like Dancing With Myself, White Wedding, Eyes Without A Face and Rebel Yell. All the while he engaged the audience, shaking hands, urging yelling and fist-pumping and inviting them to scream into his microphone.
If there was a weakness, it was, strangely, Stevens. Not his playing, exactly -- the old riffs sounded as good as ever -- but his incongruous style. He seems stuck in the '80s, adding a long and out-of-place guitar solo in the middle of the simple Generation X punk song Ready Steady Go and grabbing the spotlight with an extended solo that left no rock cliche unturned, while Idol went backstage to drink virgin's blood, or whatever he takes to keep him so youthful. But all was forgiven on his triumphant return, beaming and ready for Hot In The City and a set-closing Mony Mony.
