Billy Idol, guitarist Stevens show they can still rock at House of Blues

By Chris Kudialis

Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 | 2 a.m.

His right fist clenched and dressed in his signature leather jacket, legendary rocker Billy Idol showed few signs of slowing down in his advanced age Friday at the House of Blues.

"Las Vegas, come on!" a wide-eyed, lip-curling Idol shrieked between the chorus of his famous 1982 hit “Dancing with Myself.”

Beside Idol, longtime guitarist Steve Stevens held a pink axe behind his head on his shoulders, jamming away while a crowd of nearly 2,000 screamed and watched in awe.

Idol, now 60, and Stevens, 57, may not have the same stamina as they once did collaborating during the height of Idol’s solo career in the early 1980s. But aside from a few brief pauses during a 13-song, 80-minute setlist Friday, there's no proof the fist-pumping, head-bobbing duo has lost a step on stage.

After opening with “Shock to the System,” “Dancing with Myself” and “Daytime Drama,” Idol took off his jacket, revealing the slight outline of a once-defined six pack on his aging chest. Idol’s signature spiked crew cut hair with bleached-blond tips also looks similar to, if not the same as, 30 years ago, while Stevens swears the jet-black hair that hangs down to his shoulders is still his.

The Stanmore, England, native played his newest hit, “Can’t Break Me Down,” from his 2014 album "Kings and Queens of the Underground,” with arguably the most passion of any song Friday night.

“A silver tongue with the best of intentions, but you’re a child with the cruelest inventions,” Idol sang as Stevens, guitarist Stephen McGrath and drummer Erik Eldenius hammered away behind him.

Minutes later, it was Stevens’ time to shine. Standing with a lit cigarette in his mouth, he cranked out an '80s-themed solo, using two different guitars held in several different positions — from completely vertical to behind his back and on his shoulders. Five minutes into the solo, he threw down the cigarette and stomped it out before jamming out another two minutes as the crowd screamed and shouted.

Fans then swayed, cheered and danced on the 800-person-capacity floor below the stage for the better part of 20 minutes, holding up their drinks and taking cellphone videos through Idol hits such as “Blue Highway,” “Eyes Without a Face” and Generation X favorite “King Rocker.”

Finally, it was time for more, more, more.

Idol cranked out a six-minute rendition of “Rebel Yell,” to the loudest cheers of the night, air-boxing and throwing a punch each time he bellowed that word during the 1983 hit’s chorus.

A black T-shirt came off as the band walked off the stage for the first time, only to return for an encore featuring “White Wedding” and “Mony, Mony.”

Idol, whose second House of Blues residency this year is scheduled through Oct. 22, has been performing for the better part of the past century. He still hasn’t forgotten why.

Before walking off the stage, he screamed into the microphone, thanking the Las Vegas fans for making his life “so (expletive) great,” as they shouted one last time with cheers back at him.