Billy Idol performs live at the Turf Club for Rock 'n' Roll Radio
by Billy Idol
January 30, 2015
Billy Idol performed an acoustic set in the intimate Turf Club (post-renovation capacity: 350) with his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens and opening acts Little Man and Tropical Depression as a part of The Current's 10th Anniversary.
Blogger Andrea Swensson recaps the Monday, Jan. 19 performance:
If there was one word uttered more than any others after Billy Idol's six-song acoustic set with Steve Stevens at the Turf Club on Monday night, it was just that: Surreal. Surreal to see such a household name in such a tiny club. Surreal to watch Idol's sinewy body prowl around the stage. And surreal to hear such recognizable songs like "White Wedding" and "Eyes Without a Face" performed so emphatically to such an adoring crowd.
Although cynics may have scratched their heads at the booking, there was something delightful about the sheer randomness of the event. Billed under the name of Mary Lucia's Friday night guitar-jamming program Rock 'n' Roll Radio, the lineup spoke to the tastes of our queen of No Apologies: an opening set by Erik Appelwick's dream pop-meets-yacht rock project Tropical Depression, followed by the rip-roaring '70s rock aficionado Little Man and then the main event, Idol, who Lucia introduced as having "lived nine lives... and has probably shagged 10 people today."
There was something so unadulterated and joyful about watching Idol perform. Dressed in a leather jacket and Shellac t-shirt, he started off pacing around the stage like a cat in heat, feeding off of Steve Stevens' riffs and energy, then gestured animatedly toward the crowd, pointing out into the front rows to sing "I love you" to different people during "To Be a Lover" and providing his own percussion section in the form of an air maraca and a few punchy "chicka chicka pows!" during "Eyes Without a Face."
Watch video of Billy Idol and Steve Stevens' performances of "To Be a Lover" and "White Wedding" below, plus his career-spanning interview with Mary Lucia about the early punk scene in London, music video days of MTV, writing multipurpose pop songs, what was so special about his late manager Bill Aucoin, Idol's soul-baring autobiography, his new record Kings and Queens of the Underground and much, much more.