Billy Idol & The Dough Rollers @Cirque Royal, Brussels – 19 November 2014

Cirque Royal made place for Billy Idol’s European Tour 2014. Opening act: The Dough Rollers from New York.

The Dough Rollers

Coincidently or not, the vocal of The Dough Rollers appears on stage walking with a cane, just like Billy Idol did in the summer of ’90 when he was touring for Charmed Life album. This had a quite strong impact on the audience and the feeling that they were totally wasted for some reason was quite shocking. But after a few minutes of haziness and laughter, their straightforward blues conquered us all. They succeed to make us think of Canned Heat or Cream through a raw classic sound without tricks of fancy interventions, and, at the same time, they stood still as a whole band and not as a sum of individuals with different blues backgrounds brought together, which makes them differ from other contemporary blues makers of our 21^st century. Special remarks for Malcom Ford’s extraordinary voice. Please don’t die at 27.

While their music takes you right back in the late 60s, their family background makes you raise an eyebrow and smile. The vocalist Malcom Ford is actually the son of Harrison Ford and the guitar player Jack Byrne is the son of Gabriel Byrne. But I’m sure they are not the type of persons who’d like an emphasis on such details, judging only by their performance and style on stage – no fancy clothes, no superstar shallow attitude, just very good high quality plain rock and blues. Sharing a common passion for music, the two teamed up in 2008 to form The Dough Rollers and since then they have toured with Bob Dylan and Queens of the Stone Age and now with Billy Idol.

Jack Byrne got the attention of Jack White, who identifies him as his favorite young guitarist. And so, they have a single released at Jack White’s Third Man Records label. They have also recorded an EP with Josh Homme of Queens of The Stone Age which is still to be released.

Billy Idol

“Dancing with myself”, “she want more, more, more…”, “rock the cradle of looove” … it’s enough to utter his name and all these riffs come into your mind instantly. He has started his career in the late ‘70s, emerging from the British punk scene for which he was too sexy, too impetuous, and probably too shallow for the socially-engaged attitude of those times. If we judge him by the punk esthetics, of course. But if we were to judge him by the standards of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll life style, there’s no difference between him and Ozzy Osbourne, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop and many others of which we keep asking ourselves each time they go again on tour: gosh, how come they are still alive?

Yes, Billy Idol is still alive and kicking, with a new album ‘Kings And Queens Of The Underground’ released last month, plus an autobiography suggestively titled ‘Dancing With Myself’.

Besides a few songs from his latest album, as the opening track Postcards from the Past, the set was full of hits, the old-times flavor being fulfilled with the presence of his long-time lead guitarist Steve Stevens, better then ever. Billy Idol still got the voice, the strong but sweet personality on stage, the spiked blonde hair and the sex appeal which made him famous.

If we look at his entire rebellious career, it may seem that he has been always cared for two things: his kids and his fans. His kids made him stop a reckless life which would have definitely killed him, while his fans made him always go on. He took good care of his fans in Cirque Royal, shaking hands, acknowledging the biggest fans in the front rows, distributing gadgets, thanking everybody, which is always a great attitude for a rock star. He even changed the lyrics of LA Woman into Brussels Woman.

I guess it’s a bit unfair to put a high stress on the success he has on women. Yes, he’s a very sexy guy even in his almost 60s, but considering the audience statistics, I would say he’s more than that. It was one of those concerts where the age limit jumped easily over 45, with a nice balance between men and women. Women can though be bolder in showing off their passion, even by appearing dressed up in white dressed or wearing the right punkish make up. Good for us! Some music is made for having fun.

Setlist:

Postcards from the Past
Cradle of Love
Can’t Break Me Down
Dancing With Myself
Flesh for Fantasy
Save Me Now
Ready Steady Go
Sweet Sixteen
Eyes Without a Face
L.A. Woman
Guitar Solo
King Rocker
Whiskey and Pills
Blue Highway
Rebel Yell

Encore:
White Wedding
Mony Mony

Additional info – The Dough Rollers