Billy Idol Returns to Tell Stories
April 18 -- Billy Idol's first words to the sold-out crowd at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club on Monday night almost sounded like an apology.
"Tonight we're going to try a few experiments," Idol said almost sheepishly, after the show's rollicking opener, "Cradle of Love." "We're going to try a few ideas out and see what happens," he said, bracing the audience with a premature apology in the event that any of the songs' arrangements were less than successful.
Idol's stop in the nation's capital was part of a select handful of sold-out shows the singer is playing in preparation for his upcoming appearance on VH1's Story Tellers in New York on Thursday.
The mini-tour also coincides with the recent release of Idol's Greatest Hits collection. His D.C. appearance was equal parts promotion and rehearsal, as he and his band reworked the pop-punk classics that made Idol a fixture on MTV and the charts in the '80s.
MTV's Unplugged formula has become something of a rite of passage for major artists, as has the confessional nature of Story Tellers. But at Monday night's show, Idol allowed the music to do most of the talking as he concentrated on the new treatments he was giving his material. For his VH1 appearance, the singer has assembled an excellent band, led by guitarist and faithful sidekick Steve Stevens. The inclusion of a percussionist, Greg Ellis, in the rhythm section, along with bassist Steve McGrath and drummer Mark Schulman, gave the acoustic versions of songs like "Flesh for Fantasy" and "Eyes Without a Face" a soulful sensuality. Piano player and keyboard man Joseph Simon carried rockers like "Cradle of Love" into old-school territory that would have made Jerry Lee Lewis proud, but it was guitarist Stevens who stole the show.
Stevens seemed on the verge of taking the spotlight off Idol himself, and the singer appeared to be more than happy to let him do it. In fact, the blistering solo that the guitarist burned into "Rebel Yell" clearly took Idol by surprise as he shook his head in amazement.
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