Well this night in 2010 Mr. Idol got together with Mr. Stevens and tore down the House of Blues in downtown H-Town!  Tearing into “Ready, Steady, Go” Idol had the the jam packed SOLD OUT house hoppin’.  “Dancing With Myself” followed and there were a ton of folks doing just that, including belting out the SWEAT SWEAT chorus !

Idol has 2 new members on this tour with Jeremy Colson on skins and Billy Morrison on rhythm guitar.  But the real story of this night was the bad ass tag team of Idol & Stevens.  BI is thee ultimate showman on stage and knows where his bread is buttered.  He made ample room for SS to step up and blaze on jams while putting his mike in a “holster” so he could boogie and emplore the sweaty mass to egg Stevens on.  Sweet stuff.

Thee above mentioned hits were dazzling after they got the vocals better about 1/4 into the gig. They trotted out a few new songs, but they went nowhere except sending folks to the potty or buying over priced adult beverages. This night was about going back in time to the 80’s. I like these kind of in your face here we come kinda gigs. Low on frills but big on rock.  Stevens demonstrated he can still whip it out major with a riff medley which featured some ancient classic rock by Led Zep. Idol chose to play smaller venues on this first return to the USA since 2008.

I thought the HOB was a tad too small myself.  When it gets packed there it is quite disgusting really. But the thing that caught my attention about this show was the age of the crowd itself. Thee influence of classic rock radio has turned on the thirty somethings that were heavy in attendance.  Touring cover bands are a big business these days and only getting stronger when the original dudes put on gigs like this one.  By the time the hard earned encore arrived, Idol delivered two more haymakers with “White Wedding” (which started slow and then blew up!) and the classic cover hit “Mony Mony” !

Mr. Bill has survived a few drug overdoses and come back strong over his lengthy career. Him and Stevens obviously show some wear and tear on the tires, but look great considering all they’ve endured.  Idol found out a way to take his sneering punk attitude into the pop and rock mainstream, carving out songs-and nights like these-that will last a lifetime in those lucky enough to witness this gig on a sultry night in Texas…………..Until the next one, peace and God Bless ya!