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Buffalo, NY- “Do you want more? Do you want more?” This was the question posed to the sea of crowd surfing fans at The Pier, Sunday night at the annual 103.3 EdgeFest Extravaganza. The man asking the question was none other than the Godfather of Punk himself, Mr. Billy Idol. The purplish pink sky painted by the setting sun along Buffalo’s waterfront provided a stunning backdrop as the refueled, recharged and more rebellious than ever, Idol and long time friend and collaborator, guitar virtuoso Steve Stevens, took command of the stage. The opening song “Super Overdrive” was quite fitting, as Billy and Steve have showed no signs of slowing down in the least. Their newfound energy and drive comes by way of Devil’s Playground, the first album of new material released by Idol in over twelve years. It’s a mix of punk, dance, and straight-ahead rock and raunch, delivered in classic Billy style. The band consisting of Steve Stevens-guitar, Brain Tichy-drums, Stephen McGrath-bass and Derek Sherinian-keyboards played a host of selections off the new album including, “Body Snatcher”, “Rat Race”, “Evil Eye”, “World Coming Down” and the hit single, with more sexual innuendo than you can shake a stick at, “Scream.”
 Steve Stevens, who has been Billy’s songwriting partner throughout his career and string of platinum-selling albums in the 80’s is an undeniable talent that has flown just under the radar, and though it may seem he stands Billy’s shadow, he appears to be happiest there. Like two great tastes that taste great together, Billy & Steve have come to realize that making and performing music together is a formula not to be tampered with. The two share a persona that is uniquely their own and a stage presence that explodes with charisma and drips with sensuality. It’s the hair, it’s the sneer, it’s the whole freakin’ package man! The set was a mix of old and new, but even the old sounded fresh to the crowd of young sweaty bodies jammed against the metal barricade chanting for “more… more… more!”
Steve delivered a few smoking solos throughout the night. One was a furious fingers-on -fire jam that actually hit notes so high they were undetectable to the human ear. The second was a Hendrix style over the back, strings in the teeth, electric guitar assault that pummeled the crowd with a knock-out punch to the senses. The driving rhythm provided by drummer Brain Tichy and monster bassist Stephen McGrath wrapped around Steve’s guitar wizardry and Billy’s vocals like tight fitting leather pants. Highlights included “L.A. Woman” “White Wedding” and the fist-clenching favorite “Rebel Yell.”
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The closing song, “Mony, Mony” featured drummer Brian Tichy swapping out his kit to the band’s security guard, while he and Billy picked up guitars and jammed along side Steve & bass player Stephen McGrath for a no holds barred free for all, complete with chicks (apparent contest winners) who were allowed shake their “mony-makers” on stage for the duration of the song (your friendly neighborhood Glam-Metal writer included). So to answer Billy’s question of “do you want more?” I’d have to say that was answered by a resonating scream of “hell yes!” After spending the day partying in the sun and expending every last drop of rock n’ roll energy, the crowd was left sweaty, worn out and completely satisfied, and I’m sure Billy wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!
Check out my interview with Steve Stevens here
Also drummer Brian Tichy here
SET LIST
Super Overdrive
Dancin’ with Myself
Flesh for Fantasy
Body Snatchers
White Wedding
Scream
Eyes w/out a Face
Rat Race
LA Woman
Evil Eye
World Coming Down
Ready Steady Go
Rebel Yell
Hot in the City
Mony, Mony
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