Artist: Billy Idol
Venue: Hammerstein Ballroom (New York, NY)
Opener: n/a
Date: 9/15/2010
Label: Virgin Music

I had a such a blast the last time that Billy Idol came through town and when he announced that he would be coming back to the Hammerstein Ballroom again I knew I wanted to be there but alas could not based on the band Kamelot and their long awaited return to NYC and US regional touring. Sadly, the reports started coming in with only weeks before the tour that their lead singer Khan was ill and would not make the tour. Initially a replacement would be in the band but it would not be long before the entire tour was cancelled. With the free night now at hand I quickly arranged the means to be a part of the show being held by the legendary New Wave Punker.

At the last show Billy was supporting the release of a very solid Greatest Hits package that also featured a DVD of his classic videos. There was no new album to speak of but he did do a concert DVD entitled “Live Super Overdrive” and I had reviewed it on the site when it came out. It was a good one, but chopped up in terms of content proving that it was not the best representation of such a man in concert. If you must have this piece then buy it but be sure to get yourself tickets to a show while he is still doing it because he rocks. As soon as he hit the stage after what seemed to be no opening band, Billy was on the move and delivering his seminal hit from Generation X with “Ready, Steady, Go” which was a total surprise this early in the evening. The surprises kept coming as “Dancing With Myself” followed this one and I am sure left a lot of the fully packed house in shock since this is generally the second to last tune for the musician. Hey there is nothing wrong with getting the party started early and keeping the audience moving from the very beginning. No one was dancing with themselves in this venue at all and that was only a sign of better things to come.
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