stringfelowhawk
04-18-2005, 01:22 AM
Ok, I promised I would review his show as soon as I got home a few weeks back on another thread. There are a few things I want to say first to clear the air.
First: Norfolk, Virginia at the Norva. That's where it was. I never saw
a sign banning cameras or camera phones. They weren't even
checking for them. But, this tall dude in front of me was taking
a 10 sec clip of the first song and security came up to him and
asked him to put it away. They were cool about it. Since he saw
me reaching for mine he shook his head so I couldn't get any
vids or shots. We had a dude about 10 feet from us all night.
Don't get me wrong, it was a really cool party atmosphere and I
expected alot of older fans but that audience was fucking rowdy
as hell and this was in a very good way. The only negative thing
was me not getting any shots of them. I'm sure it will be out
cause they were filming it all. Since the Norva is General Adm.
its standing room only except for the few stools at the bar.
Second: This review is word for word my opinion of the show. I will
not embellish at all to make it sound better or worse than it
was. So, if you're thinking I'm a hardcore fan that will only
be positive you're way off base. In the other thread I
mentioned I bought these tix as a birthday present for
myself and a friend from work who was unfamiliar with Billy
Idol was coming along so I could expose him to it.
Let me just say, "Thanks for the birthday wish Sarge"!
Dearly appreciated.
Third: I don't know how many people the Norva holds so I can't give
you a figure but it was SOLD OUT. Its a club/bar like Club
Levaila in Panama City is. Not an ampitheater but honestly it
didn't need to be. I'm not kidding about SOLD OUT. When we
drove by the line to get in was wrapped around three sides of
the building and people were still coming. There were people
begging for tickets. I met these two guys that were cool and
needed tix. Since I had one extra I gave it to them with the
hope they could find one more. (A friend couldn't make it).
I did say, "GAVE" it to them. Turns out they got another ticket.
He bought me drinks all night to say thankyou. NO! He's not
gay. That was cool of him. Course, me being the DD I
couldn't drink much but all is well.
Now, on to the review:
As we got closer to the door a few of the security guys were going down the line to verify the over 21 crowd so it wouldn't take up time inside. One of them told me the line just keeps getting bigger and bigger. As I looked back the line had gone around the other side of the building. I will say he could have sold a bigger venue out with no
problem at all. There were at least three hundred people or so behind us and we were still on the back side of the building. The same security guy said it had been a while since he'd seen a line this damn long. Since this place had been sold out in advance, I believe him.
Now, my friend who didn't know who Billy Idol was is a guitar player so he knew who Steve Stevens was. I had heard some rumors about him not being as good as he was a while back. I can't speak for every show cause I haven't seen any others. The last time they came to town I couldn't go. Understand something though, If I were a complete stranger who had never heard of Billy Idol or Steve Stevens and just stumbled across this concert. This is the concert that would make me a fan. And for my buddy, he is now a fan. They were both so ON tonight that I was utterly baffled. If anyone gives them a bad review for this show tonight, they must play a mean fucking pinball. Cause they really are DEAF DUMB AND BLIND!
This was the right crowd in the right place at the right time and I hate cliche's but this was the kind of show that gave me goose bumps and that never happens to me anymore. (The last time was hearing Nick Perri from Silvertide playing guitar)!
Billy was in shape I.E. Diamond Dave in 2002. He was ripped and the dude does NOT look his age. If I didn't know who he was I'd swear he was 30 maybe 35. Steve was too. I have heard exactly two people in the many concerts that I've ever seen that vocally, sound just as good live as they do on record. Ann Wilson and now Billy Idol. This dude hit every fucking note. I dare say he sounded better than on record because there were exactly ZERO arrant notes. I have a musical ear. I can walk into a room and hear three notes on guitar and tell you who it is playing. I don't play myself, anymore, but I can still read sheet music etc. Both of them were amazing tonight. They were in there element. The crowd was into it in a major way and they were just feeding off it. I haven't seen this many hot chicks in one place since Spring Break 2000. Even the older chicks were fucking H.O.T! I was really surprised that so many people my age and even younger were there. As one of them said to me, "I'm not into the whiney shit they play on the radio now. I heard of him but never seen him. I figured I'd come check it out." If you could have seen the shit eatin grin on her face when he started playing the solo in "White Wedding". Made my night guys. Really did.
Since I wasn't able to get the entire setlist I'll just say, he played a very balanced show. The new stuff was really good. I hadn't heard anything except the "Scream" song so I didn't know how well I'd like it.
I'll put it like this. YOU KNOW HE'S GONNA PLAY THE OLD STUFF. What surprised me is how much I really like the new stuff. His voice never cracked. He never missed anything and neither did Steve Stevens. I had never heard him do this solo before. He played his entire solo spot on an acoustic guitar plugged into his amp and he IS THE MAN!!! My buddy was blown away. Acoustic, you're thinkin it, I know but he fucking laid it to waste. I was watching him and he was playing this spanish type sound that was furiously fast. I kept moving back and forth from him to the monitor so I could catch how he was doing that cause I've never seen it before. That place erupted when he did that. It had a "Spanish Fly" type feel but sounded nothing like it. My buddy ran down stairs (we were on the balcony right over the stage) and got as close as he could to see if he could figure it out. He came back up and I swear to you these are his exact words, "I can play guitar. I've been playing for 12 years. I was less than 10 ft from the stage. I saw exactly what he did and I don't know how the fuck he did it"! This guys favorite guitarist is Steve Vai ok. He's a guitar freak. He's a huge Jason Becker fan as well but until I played ALAE for him, he didn't know he played with Diamond Dave. All he heard was Cacophony. (maybe I mispelled that)
The only song missing that I expected him to play was "Cradle Of Love" but I expected that to be his encore. What I wasn't expecting was what happened at the end of the show.
Now, the building this place is in is brick. No insulation in the walls like most places or at least all you see is brick. Its two levels and not huge but fairly big. It was the perfect place to see his show. There was no flash or bullshit to cover anything up alright. This was a ROCK show. I told my other friend that this is whats missing from rock today. Billy still looks like he'd fuck you up if you messed with him and even on the second level I could have spit on him he was right below us. You know "White Wedding", "Eyes without A Face", and a truly hot version of "Flesh For Fantasy" are gonna get played. He pulled out some Gen X stuff too. In fact, when they did "Ready, Steady, Go" we could actually feel the entire level swaying. In the break when he goes into the solo he took that song over. I've never heard Gen X sing it so I won't compare it. But it would be impossible for anyone to convince me they did it better. He played a really cool flaming solo that went with the song instead of just trying to show off. That is why I loved this concert. There was literally NO filler. When he closed the show with "Rebel Yell" I was actually getting concerned cause this building is very old and up to this point we could feel the level moving but when those first few notes started we were like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in high winds man! I thought we were coming down it was SO LOUD! Hearing 1000 chicks screaming at once is just eardrum busting but still very cool. So, if you catch what I'm saying, you know this was damn near the perfect show. If only "Cradle Of Love" was the encore I'd give it a 10. As it stands now it gets a well deserved 9 1/2.
If you're thinking why, let me finish first. Their encore was "Hot In The City" which was done spot on but "Moni Moni" was the show stopper tonight without question. Not because they closed the encore with it though. Oh NO! As he was about to solo they did this break and started jammin and that's when all hell broke loose. Some dude walked out on stage. I didn't recognize him and Billy said his name but the crowd was so damn loud I'm still ringing. What's the big deal with that? I'll tell ya! He started jammin with Steve and right in the middle of the song they started a fucking guitar duel. A REAL GUITAR DUEL! Not some fake chords to get the audience to cheer. I mean they were just tearing the shit up. I haven't even heard of anyone doing that in over a decade. To quote Eddie Murphy, "This is what made the show a Ritz cracker and not just a saltine"! It sounded like he said Ticshe or something and Rancid but as I said, I couldn't hear because the crowd was going nuts. It wasn't some few seconds a peice and then move on. They dueled back and forth for like 10 mins and I was in guitar heaven cause this guy didn't just play, he was smokin and I was honestly floored! I did have to make sure this hot drunk chick didn't trip over my jaw as I reached down to pick it up off the damn floor. All that was cool but when they came outta the break together and started playin the same solo it was awesome. I don't know if they planned that or not but when the song was over that is what everyone was talking about. This was a special show in every sense. It was so good that I'm really afraid Velvet Revolver is gonna disappoint me. I don't see how they're gonna top it. Every concert I see from today on will be judged against this one show. I don't know how good the shows have been up till today and I don't know how they'll be for the rest of the tour but tonight was one of those rare nights when everything was just right on. If I hadn't gone to it and someone told me it was this good. Honestly, I wouldn't believe them and they couldn't change my mind. This is my opinion of the show. I don't know what everyone else will say about it and don't care. I saw rock the way it should be seen. Ornery without being whiney and right now life is pretty damn good.
Don't take my word for it. If he comes around go see for yourself.
First: Norfolk, Virginia at the Norva. That's where it was. I never saw
a sign banning cameras or camera phones. They weren't even
checking for them. But, this tall dude in front of me was taking
a 10 sec clip of the first song and security came up to him and
asked him to put it away. They were cool about it. Since he saw
me reaching for mine he shook his head so I couldn't get any
vids or shots. We had a dude about 10 feet from us all night.
Don't get me wrong, it was a really cool party atmosphere and I
expected alot of older fans but that audience was fucking rowdy
as hell and this was in a very good way. The only negative thing
was me not getting any shots of them. I'm sure it will be out
cause they were filming it all. Since the Norva is General Adm.
its standing room only except for the few stools at the bar.
Second: This review is word for word my opinion of the show. I will
not embellish at all to make it sound better or worse than it
was. So, if you're thinking I'm a hardcore fan that will only
be positive you're way off base. In the other thread I
mentioned I bought these tix as a birthday present for
myself and a friend from work who was unfamiliar with Billy
Idol was coming along so I could expose him to it.
Let me just say, "Thanks for the birthday wish Sarge"!
Dearly appreciated.
Third: I don't know how many people the Norva holds so I can't give
you a figure but it was SOLD OUT. Its a club/bar like Club
Levaila in Panama City is. Not an ampitheater but honestly it
didn't need to be. I'm not kidding about SOLD OUT. When we
drove by the line to get in was wrapped around three sides of
the building and people were still coming. There were people
begging for tickets. I met these two guys that were cool and
needed tix. Since I had one extra I gave it to them with the
hope they could find one more. (A friend couldn't make it).
I did say, "GAVE" it to them. Turns out they got another ticket.
He bought me drinks all night to say thankyou. NO! He's not
gay. That was cool of him. Course, me being the DD I
couldn't drink much but all is well.
Now, on to the review:
As we got closer to the door a few of the security guys were going down the line to verify the over 21 crowd so it wouldn't take up time inside. One of them told me the line just keeps getting bigger and bigger. As I looked back the line had gone around the other side of the building. I will say he could have sold a bigger venue out with no
problem at all. There were at least three hundred people or so behind us and we were still on the back side of the building. The same security guy said it had been a while since he'd seen a line this damn long. Since this place had been sold out in advance, I believe him.
Now, my friend who didn't know who Billy Idol was is a guitar player so he knew who Steve Stevens was. I had heard some rumors about him not being as good as he was a while back. I can't speak for every show cause I haven't seen any others. The last time they came to town I couldn't go. Understand something though, If I were a complete stranger who had never heard of Billy Idol or Steve Stevens and just stumbled across this concert. This is the concert that would make me a fan. And for my buddy, he is now a fan. They were both so ON tonight that I was utterly baffled. If anyone gives them a bad review for this show tonight, they must play a mean fucking pinball. Cause they really are DEAF DUMB AND BLIND!
This was the right crowd in the right place at the right time and I hate cliche's but this was the kind of show that gave me goose bumps and that never happens to me anymore. (The last time was hearing Nick Perri from Silvertide playing guitar)!
Billy was in shape I.E. Diamond Dave in 2002. He was ripped and the dude does NOT look his age. If I didn't know who he was I'd swear he was 30 maybe 35. Steve was too. I have heard exactly two people in the many concerts that I've ever seen that vocally, sound just as good live as they do on record. Ann Wilson and now Billy Idol. This dude hit every fucking note. I dare say he sounded better than on record because there were exactly ZERO arrant notes. I have a musical ear. I can walk into a room and hear three notes on guitar and tell you who it is playing. I don't play myself, anymore, but I can still read sheet music etc. Both of them were amazing tonight. They were in there element. The crowd was into it in a major way and they were just feeding off it. I haven't seen this many hot chicks in one place since Spring Break 2000. Even the older chicks were fucking H.O.T! I was really surprised that so many people my age and even younger were there. As one of them said to me, "I'm not into the whiney shit they play on the radio now. I heard of him but never seen him. I figured I'd come check it out." If you could have seen the shit eatin grin on her face when he started playing the solo in "White Wedding". Made my night guys. Really did.
Since I wasn't able to get the entire setlist I'll just say, he played a very balanced show. The new stuff was really good. I hadn't heard anything except the "Scream" song so I didn't know how well I'd like it.
I'll put it like this. YOU KNOW HE'S GONNA PLAY THE OLD STUFF. What surprised me is how much I really like the new stuff. His voice never cracked. He never missed anything and neither did Steve Stevens. I had never heard him do this solo before. He played his entire solo spot on an acoustic guitar plugged into his amp and he IS THE MAN!!! My buddy was blown away. Acoustic, you're thinkin it, I know but he fucking laid it to waste. I was watching him and he was playing this spanish type sound that was furiously fast. I kept moving back and forth from him to the monitor so I could catch how he was doing that cause I've never seen it before. That place erupted when he did that. It had a "Spanish Fly" type feel but sounded nothing like it. My buddy ran down stairs (we were on the balcony right over the stage) and got as close as he could to see if he could figure it out. He came back up and I swear to you these are his exact words, "I can play guitar. I've been playing for 12 years. I was less than 10 ft from the stage. I saw exactly what he did and I don't know how the fuck he did it"! This guys favorite guitarist is Steve Vai ok. He's a guitar freak. He's a huge Jason Becker fan as well but until I played ALAE for him, he didn't know he played with Diamond Dave. All he heard was Cacophony. (maybe I mispelled that)
The only song missing that I expected him to play was "Cradle Of Love" but I expected that to be his encore. What I wasn't expecting was what happened at the end of the show.
Now, the building this place is in is brick. No insulation in the walls like most places or at least all you see is brick. Its two levels and not huge but fairly big. It was the perfect place to see his show. There was no flash or bullshit to cover anything up alright. This was a ROCK show. I told my other friend that this is whats missing from rock today. Billy still looks like he'd fuck you up if you messed with him and even on the second level I could have spit on him he was right below us. You know "White Wedding", "Eyes without A Face", and a truly hot version of "Flesh For Fantasy" are gonna get played. He pulled out some Gen X stuff too. In fact, when they did "Ready, Steady, Go" we could actually feel the entire level swaying. In the break when he goes into the solo he took that song over. I've never heard Gen X sing it so I won't compare it. But it would be impossible for anyone to convince me they did it better. He played a really cool flaming solo that went with the song instead of just trying to show off. That is why I loved this concert. There was literally NO filler. When he closed the show with "Rebel Yell" I was actually getting concerned cause this building is very old and up to this point we could feel the level moving but when those first few notes started we were like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in high winds man! I thought we were coming down it was SO LOUD! Hearing 1000 chicks screaming at once is just eardrum busting but still very cool. So, if you catch what I'm saying, you know this was damn near the perfect show. If only "Cradle Of Love" was the encore I'd give it a 10. As it stands now it gets a well deserved 9 1/2.
If you're thinking why, let me finish first. Their encore was "Hot In The City" which was done spot on but "Moni Moni" was the show stopper tonight without question. Not because they closed the encore with it though. Oh NO! As he was about to solo they did this break and started jammin and that's when all hell broke loose. Some dude walked out on stage. I didn't recognize him and Billy said his name but the crowd was so damn loud I'm still ringing. What's the big deal with that? I'll tell ya! He started jammin with Steve and right in the middle of the song they started a fucking guitar duel. A REAL GUITAR DUEL! Not some fake chords to get the audience to cheer. I mean they were just tearing the shit up. I haven't even heard of anyone doing that in over a decade. To quote Eddie Murphy, "This is what made the show a Ritz cracker and not just a saltine"! It sounded like he said Ticshe or something and Rancid but as I said, I couldn't hear because the crowd was going nuts. It wasn't some few seconds a peice and then move on. They dueled back and forth for like 10 mins and I was in guitar heaven cause this guy didn't just play, he was smokin and I was honestly floored! I did have to make sure this hot drunk chick didn't trip over my jaw as I reached down to pick it up off the damn floor. All that was cool but when they came outta the break together and started playin the same solo it was awesome. I don't know if they planned that or not but when the song was over that is what everyone was talking about. This was a special show in every sense. It was so good that I'm really afraid Velvet Revolver is gonna disappoint me. I don't see how they're gonna top it. Every concert I see from today on will be judged against this one show. I don't know how good the shows have been up till today and I don't know how they'll be for the rest of the tour but tonight was one of those rare nights when everything was just right on. If I hadn't gone to it and someone told me it was this good. Honestly, I wouldn't believe them and they couldn't change my mind. This is my opinion of the show. I don't know what everyone else will say about it and don't care. I saw rock the way it should be seen. Ornery without being whiney and right now life is pretty damn good.
Don't take my word for it. If he comes around go see for yourself.