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Bottom Line, New York April 24, 2001 By C. Bottomley Billy Idol's been accused of having nothing behind his whiplash smile, but he does know his history. Where better for this unreconstructed rocker - if you don't count the leg fractured in his near-fatal 1990 motorcycle crackup - to stage a comeback than at the Bottom Line, where London punks the Damned first played New York and Bruce Springsteen made his name with a series of pre-Born to Run gigs? The leather-jacketed ticket-holders outside the club looked old enough to remember when the Damned began their trek toward purgatory. But inside, it was still 1984 and as he kicked off with "Cradle of Love," Idol looked as frozen in time as Walt Disney's corpse. The sneer, blond spikes, and raised fist - all the hallmarks of his strutting persona were intact. The only thing missing was VJ Martha Quinn doing the segues. Even Idol's anecdotes were nostalgic. He momentarily paused to recall how as an expatriate in Greenwich Village, his hero Lou Reed turned down a proposed collaboration by threatening to charge him $1,000 for the privilege. But to his credit, Idol was out to prove that his greatest hits weren't as embarrassing as, say, those of Journey. With old guitarist Steve Stevens by his side, the show's first half was devoted to acoustic takes on "To Be a Lover" and "Rebel Yell" that played like pure Eddie Cochran rockabilly. When Stevens played the skittering intro of "White Wedding," it sounded like Idol had done pretty well for himself. Unlike Reed, his bad sex is as glossy as a Helmut Newton photograph, and any references to drugs are always couched in terms the kids will be OK with. In person, Idol is pop art at its cartoonish best. Making a grind sandwich between two frisky fans who had crawled on stage, he fulfilled every boy's dream of being a leather-clad Aryan who might dance with himself and without guilt. "Eyes Without a Face," certainly the only song based on a film directed by nouvelle vague great Georges Franju, saw Stevens plugging in and the band taking off. Idol made a case for his Generation X days by revisiting "Ready Steady Go" - certainly the only song to reference '70s British TV presenter Cathy McGowan. Idol knows pop culture, too, and that it's better served by instant gratification than a commitment to quality. He must be learning not to wait so long between fixes. |
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