“Are you sitting comfortably?  Then we’ll begin.”

When it comes to music, I am a child of the 80s. Born in the 70s, but too young to do more than listen to my parent’s music and Disney nursery rhymes, my musical autonomy and passion began in the 80s. And what a decade for a musical awakening!

I mean, it was the 80s.

Big shoulder pads. Big hair. Big music.

Mostly, I lived and breathed Michael Jackson, with a side of Janet, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and Duran Duran. And yah, later in the decade, that little band called U2. 

But there was also Platinum Blonde (from whom the above quote originates – their song Doesn’t Really Matter) – Canada’s new wave, glam rock, super group.

And there was Billy Idol. 

This punk rocker who was NOT my typical look or sound. That white spikey hair, that sneer, the leather, that bad boy attitude.

But who in the 80s didn’t come under the spell of White Wedding or Mony Mony?

Or of that sneer?

And the hair.

And, umm, the leather.

That aesthetic quickly became an aesthetic. An appreciation that led to questionable preferences for David in The Lost Boys and Spike in Buffy and the Vampire Slayer (hmm, maybe the appreciation is for vampires….).

And the sound became a sound – that rasp, that growl, that Rebel Yell.

So 40 years later (whaaatttttt!?!?!), Billy Idol comes to town, bringing Platinum Blonde with him, and my sister and I make our ways from our adult jobs on a weekday night to my second home, Roger’s Place.

(Rebelling in your 50s is much like rebelling when you are 10 – staying up late, well past your bedtime on a school (work) night!)

Platinum Blonde began the evening in fine form. Situation Critical, Doesn’t Really Matter, Crying Over You, Standing in the Dark. These songs may have come from the new wave 80s, but they sound just as good 40 years later (maybe we need a new New Wave in music?!?!).

The audience of mostly 50+ year olds and a few of their kids (presumably) ate the band up. The second Platinum Blonde said “This isn’t a sitting down song! Get up!” (I think for Situation Critical), we were on our feet and stayed there for the rest of their set. They had us and kept us. 

I’ve said it before – Edmonton is one of the best audiences for concerts I’ve ever been a part of. We like to stand and groove to our musicians.

And we stayed on our feet from the first note of Billy Idol to the very end (yah we sat during intermission – we are old, after all!).

He had us and kept us.

It was such a great show. This tour, a celebration of the 40 year old (whaaaaattttt?!?!?!) Rebel Yell album, brought deep cuts, mixed with new stuff (including Cage, a catchy ode to covid lockdown times), and all the hits from Rebel and beyond.

All the hits.

And all the sneer.

And the hair.

And all the leather. 

So much leather there were multiple costume changes – like Gaga level changes! And though sometimes those changes seemed to dampen the momentum, Steve Stevens’ intense, smoky guitar interludes held on tight. Goose-bump inducing. Just wow!

I never got to see either band at their height, but this field trip to the 80s via Platinum Blonde and Billy Idol was perfect. We sang. We danced. We stayed up well past our bedtimes.

Such rebels. (We all cried “More, more, more!”)