Billy Idol and Joan Jett’s, “It’s a Nice Day To… Tour Again!” show rocks fans at Ruoff Music Center
By: Kevin Vickery
Back in the Spring, when I first heard that Billy Idol and Joan Jett were coming through Noblesville on August 30th I knew I had to go for two reasons. Firstly, because I had never seen Billy Idol before and secondly because I’ve loved Joan Jett since I was a kid. In fact she was my first crush.
I was ten years old when she along with her then newly formed band, The Blackhearts debuted the album, “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” and eleven when she released the song of the same name as a single on radio. From the first time I heard it I was instantly hooked. I can clearly remember cranking up the volume on a clock radio while my mom and I jammed out and sang along to it while we got ready for work and school in the mornings.
The MTV network had also launched in 1981 and you see kids, back then they actually played music videos. Of course we didn’t have cable TV available on County Road 400 North, but my Aunt Jo in Middletown did, so it was there that I first finally got to put a face to the song. I was instantly in love.
That album also featured some of her other hits like, “Love is Pain” and her cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’, “Crimson and Clover”. I only recently learned that, “I Love Rock ‘n Roll wasn’t a Joan Jett original but instead a cover of a British glam-rock band known as The Arrows who had originally recorded the song in 1968. She’s had far more success with it than they did carving out a slot on the Billboard Hot 100 as a number-one single for seven weeks, and 1982, the song was platinum-certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The way she approaches covering a song along with her own gritty, pop-punk style in the songs she’s written like, “Bad Reputation”as well as her work with her original band, The Runaways are all the components in an equation that has earned her the title, “The Godmother of Punk”.
The first and only other time I was able to see Joan Jett in concert was on December 27th, 1988 at good ole Market Square Arena. She was the opening act for Cheap Trick on that tour promoting her album, “Up Your Alley” which featured the hit single, “I Hate Myself for Loving You” which had earned her a Grammy nomination in 1988.
That song has since been licensed by the NFL and used as a promotional piece for primetime-slot games with alternate lyrics, “Been waitin all day for Sunday night” – or Monday night”. These versions have been sung by artists like Pink, Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood. I don’t know how much Joan Jett gets paid by the NFL for the licensing of that song but I bet it’s a lot.
That day at Market Square Arena was brutal. Back then all shows were general admission so some friends and I headed to Indy in the afternoon and waited in line at the top level in the cold freezing rain for several hours so that when they opened the doors we could rush in, sprint through the concourse and down the stairs to get the best possible seats.
We did manage to score second row center seats so I guess it was worth it but I swear I was beginning to show early signs of frost bite in my toes. They eventually thawed out and we all had a blast. Joan Jett even made direct eye contact and winked at me…no really!…. I swear she did!
Fun fact about that night… After the show we decided we needed to get something to eat and in those days, Indianapolis was the closest place to get White Castle burgers. The decision to go there was obvious but our only problem was that the drivers side window of my 1980 Buick Regal wouldn’t roll down so we made the only choice 4 smart-ass teen-agers would do and backed through the drive-thru so that my buddy Warren could order from the functional passenger side window. We all thought it was hilarious and they did serve us the food but they were less than amused and asked us to never come back. Psst… don’t tell anybody but I’ve been back there several times over the years and they didn’t even know it was me! Maybe that’s because I properly navigated the drive-thru window at all future visits.
But back to the point… Joan Jett’s performance at Ruoff Music Center was excellent, plus the much better weather and reserved pavilion seats all made for a far better (albeit certainly far more expensive) experience. She played all the hits I’ve already mentioned plus others like her song, “Victim of Circumstance”, the lesser known, “(Make the Music Go) Boom and her covers of Sly and the Family Stone’s, “Everyday People” and Gary Glitter’s, “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah).
She also treated the crowd to a couple of tunes from her time in The Runaways like, “You Drive Me Wild” and “Cherry Bomb”.
At 66 years old Joan Jett still sounded great and had the crowd in the palm of her hand. Her voice is as strong as ever and her guitar playing is on point. She fronts and leads a solid and straightforward 4-piece band that features Hal B. Seltzer on bass, Dougie Needles on lead guitar and drummer, Michael McDermott. They are all solid musicians and do a fantastic job of bringing the classic Blackhearts sound to life on stage.
After a brief intermission for the stage to be reset, the man of the hour, Billy Idol took the stage opening with his modern single, “Still Dancing” and followed with classic hits like, “Cradle of Love” and, “Flesh for Fantasy”. At 69 years of age I really wasn’t sure what to expect from him but he definitely did not disappoint.
He’s still rocking his signature spiked bleach-blonde hair, and clad in various leather jackets and vests as he fist pumps growls and screams his way through his set with as much power and energy as you’d expect from him when he was half that age. The crowd loved him and sang along word-for-word to hits mega hits like, “Rebel Yell” and “Eyes Without a Face”.
When he played his popular cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ classic, “Mony Mony” he had thousands of aging Gen-Xers like me yelling that popular chant that we all say between the lines of the versus (if you know, you know). What is unknown is the origin of the chant, at least that’s what the internet tells me but I do know it’s been around since the 1980s, it’s spread across the the US and Canada even during the pre-internet era, with some variation and is still chanted today. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same and all that.
Billy idols set is not only packed full of his hits but he also featured, “Ready Steady Go” and “Dancing With Myself” from the English punk band Generation X that he formed and fronted in London back in 1976.
He also treated the crowd to an unexpected cover of The Rolling Stones classic, “Gimme Shelter” which spotlighted his backing vocalist Jessica Childress who was excellent.
He is backed by a powerhouse band that features legendary guitarist Steve Stevens who has been with Billy since the beginning. His masterful guitar playing alone is worth the price of admission.
The band also includes Billy Morrison on rhythm and lead guitar, Stephen McGrath on bass, drummer, Erik Eldenius, and keyboardist, Paul Trudeau. He also features two fantastic backing vocalists in the aforementioned Jessica Childress and Kitten Kuroi. Not only was the whole group of musicians extremely talented and tight as a band but they also seemed to be having fun and were genuinely enjoying making music together.
Of course he closed out the 4-song encore with one of his most popular tunes, “White Wedding” which left the crowd satisfied that they had not only heard the complete Idol hit catalog but heard it all performed well.
Another fun fact… About 25 years ago I was a groomsman in a rock and roll themed wedding in Atlantic City, NJ and the bride came down the aisle to Billy Idol’s, “White Wedding”. I thought that was very cool and a great time was had by all. Unfortunately my memories of that evening have lasted far longer than their marriage did but I don’t think that was Billy Idol’s fault.
If you ever get a chance to see either of these Rock and Roll Hall of Famers you should, or if you find yourself in a city where this tour stops before it ends on September 28th in Las Vegas, I’d highly recommend checking it out.
I’m just glad I got to see the show at the venue I will always still call Deer Creek. Even Billy Idol calls it Deer Creek and to a very loud cheer no less.
I was able to get some thoughts on the show from a Facebook post of an old family friend and childhood neighbor, Jim “Goose” Rawlings who made the trip from Lafayette to take in the experience. He said, “It’s been quite a while since I’ve been there (Deer Creek) but it’s still in the same place and still amazingly expensive. Joan Jett and Billy Idol were great and Billy’s guitar player Steve Stevens was worth the ticket by himself. – They have been together touring for 30 years.
He continued, “Joan Jett is in the Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks, Pearl Group of Rock n Roll Goddesses. – Fantastic performer. He added, “I have come to the conclusion that no group of old people have gained the respect of folks in general like musicians have. – Keep on rockin’ you old farts.”
To keep up with all things Billy Idol visit his official website at billyidol.net.
For more on Joan Jett And The Blackhearts go to her official website at joanjett.com.
For more information about events at Ruoff Music Center you can find that at ruoffmusiccenter.net.
Make Some Noise 