Who needs the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Clearly not Billy Idol, who rocked Austin’s Moody Center on Sunday with a treasure trove of hits, age-defying ferocity and the same devil-may-care attitude that made him a punk rock pinup more than 40 years ago.
You can see UCR’s exclusive photos from the show below.
Following a high-voltage set from Joan Jett, Idol kept the energy at a fever pitch as he made his entrance to the tune of “Still Dancing,” off his brand-new album Dream Into It. The formidable opener segued neatly into “Cradle of Love” and “Flesh for Fantasy,” combining lush keyboards and Steve Stevens‘ muscular guitar riffs with a dazzling stage and light show to create an enveloping, multisensory experience.
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At 69 years old, Idol was robust and ribald as ever, bounding across the stage and leaping up on risers to summon applause from the audience. The black t-shirt and red leather jacket with which he began the show proved a mere formality, as he quickly performed a mini strip tease and changed into a black button-up and red leather vest — essentially the same outfit, only now his sturdy torso was visible, which the audience deemed an improvement.
“This next song is about today and when I was young,” Idol said before playing “77,” his new collaboration with millennial pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne. Then he laughed: “I’m still young. I still got what you need.”
If Idol’s new album struck listeners as especially poppy or slickly produced, they’ll be happy to know the new material sounds more muscular in a live setting and sidles up well next to the classics. “People I Love,” with its buoyant new wave hooks and bittersweetly nostalgic lyrics, made for an especially poignant encore track, sandwiched between the glitzy “Hot in the City” and the show-stopping “White Wedding.”
Idol was in wistful storytelling mode all night, regaling the audience with tales of drinking with the Rolling Stones and finding the inspiration for “Rebel Yell” on a bottle of bourbon, or the attempted ’60s pop-rock pastiche that resulted in Generation X’s “Ready Steady Go.” And if he occasionally got off-key or found himself grasping for a high note, the crowd was more than happy to lend its collective talents — as in “White Wedding,” where the “Start again!” refrain fell squarely on their shoulders.
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The rocker made up for any vocal shortcomings with his captivating stage presence and Stevens’ consistently brilliant guitar work. The guitarist — who received an early serenade in anticipation of his 66th birthday today — dazzled with an incendiary solo on Idol’s recently unearthed “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” cover, and his signature raygun squeals in “Rebel Yell” worked the audience into a frenzy.
Judging by the size of the venues on this tour, Idol is having something of a pop-cultural renaissance, and in Austin he offered an impressive blend of patented hard rock showmanship and heartwarming reflections on a life lived to the fullest. He confessed to tearing up while sound checking “Dream Into It,” then unleashed his trademark howl in short order. This mix of virility and vulnerability made him an icon of the MTV generation, and it’s the reason his current tour still feels like vital Idol.
Billy Idol Live in Austin – May 4, 2025
The “Rebel Yell” rocker was hot in Bat City.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Rolli
