BILLY IDOL, DEVO (A Parent’s Perspective) SHOW REVIEW!

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What seems like an unorthadox pairing of a legendary punk rocker turned "idol" and an 80's new wave band that also some members wrote the theme song to the Nickelodeon show Rugrats, (look it up it's true!), you get the "It's A Nice Day To Tour Again" tour featuring DEVO and none other than Billy Idol.

Fresh off the heels of his Hulu documentary and induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, Billy Idol has set a tour trek that runs from August 7th in Scranton, Pennsylvania, through September 27th in Albuquerque, New Mexico, taking a detour to Las Vegas in late August and early September for Idol’s previously announced five-show “Hot in the City” residency at the Fontainebleau.

The show, has been built around two artists with very different presentations but plenty of shared DNA. DEVO turned punk into a nervous, satirical warning about conformity and society’s decline. Billy Idol took that same rebellious spirit, added a curled lip, leather and arena-sized hooks, and transformed himself into one of rock’s most recognizable figures.

One came armed with de-evolution.

The other brought a rebel yell.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 2026: The two acts of Billy Idol and DEVO brought decades of punk, new wave and glorious weirdness to The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown. On paper, the pairing might seem unusual, but with both emerging from punk’s late-’70s upheaval, the each found massive audiences in the ’80s and created identities so distinctive that they remain instantly recognizable today.

Usually, the “Parent’s Perspective” part of these reviews involves music I’m sharing with my kids, but this time, the musical hand-me-down traveled in the opposite direction. My connection to DEVO started with that record my mom passed down to me. There’s something special about owning an album that belonged to one of your family members, especially when it still contains all the little pieces that usually disappear over time. The Club DEVO form and old merchandise advertisements, along with cellophane wrapping still preserved with the record store price tag for less than $7.00 from the 80's still on it, make Devo's Freedom Of Choice vinyl album feel like a relic from a time capsule, but then again, my parents took really good care of anything music-related, but I digress.

DEVO kicked off the evening by plunging straight into “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man),” followed by “Peek-A-Boo!,” “Going Under” and “That’s Good.” Rather than rushing toward their biggest hit, the band took its time establishing its peculiar, tightly controlled world. “Girl U Want” and “Whip It” arrived back-to-back, giving the middle of the set an immediate jolt of familiarity. For me, “Whip It” carried a personal connection stretching beyond simply knowing the song from radio or television with the vinyl at home, the band was dressed to the T, just like on the album, hats and all.

“Planet Earth” led into a potent stretch of early material that included “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Blockhead,” “Mongoloid” and the foundational “Jocko Homo.” “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA” and “Gates of Steel” closed the main portion of the performance before the band returned for an encore featuring the “DEVO Corporate Anthem” and “Freedom of Choice.” The performance demonstrated that DEVO remains far more than an ’80s novelty. Beneath the synchronized presentation and absurdist humor is a sharp, restless band whose songs still sound nervy, confrontational and wonderfully out of step with the rest of the world.

Billy Idol followed with “Still Dancing,” a title that served as an appropriate mission statement for the entire performance. Idol is indeed still sneering, posing and prowling across the stage with the attitude that made him one of rock’s most enduring personalities. “Cradle of Love” and “Flesh for Fantasy” quickly delivered the recognizable hooks, while “77” and “Love Unchained” gave the show room to move beyond the expected hits. “Eyes Without a Face” provided a darker and more atmospheric turn before longtime guitarist Steve Stevens stepped into the spotlight.

At one point during the show, Stevens shared a memory of sledding with friends during snowy Pittsburgh winters when he was younger. It was a small but welcome local connection, briefly shrinking the distance between the stage and the surrounding hills. Stevens and fellow Idol guitarist Billy Morrison, then demonstrated why they remain such an essential part of Idol’s sound by encorperating pieces of Led Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” and “Stairway to Heaven,” along with Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” into a killer solo spot in the middle of the set. It was flashy by design, but Stevens and Morrison possesses both the technical ability and unmistakable rock-star presence required to pull it off.

From there, the set moved through “Mony Mony” and “Trouble With the Sweet Stuff” before reaching “Ready Steady Go,” one of the evening’s direct links to Idol’s days fronting Generation X, and a Generation X fan, I was thrilled to hear that part of Idol’s history represented, although I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed that the selection wasn’t my personal favorite, “Kiss Me Deadly.” Still, it is difficult to complain when Idol remains willing to acknowledge the band that first introduced his voice and attitude to the world. The encore also included “Dancing With Myself,” another song that originated with Generation X before becoming inseparable from Idol’s solo career.

“Blue Highway,” paired with a portion of the “Top Gun Anthem,” drove the main set toward its inevitable conclusion with “Rebel Yell.” Idol then returned for a three-song encore of “Dancing With Myself,” “Hot in the City” and “White Wedding”, a closing run built from songs that have long since become part of rock’s collective memory. After all these years, Idol and his band have lost none of their edge. The energy, the sneer and the punk-rock attitude, still wrapped in studs, spikes and leather and haven’t aged a bit. Steve Stevens and Billy Morrison remain commanding partners, while Idol continues to carry himself with the confidence of someone who understands exactly what an audience wants from a Billy Idol show.

Together, DEVO and Billy Idol offered more than an evening of familiar songs. They showed two different ways of surviving punk’s original explosion without surrendering the identities that made them matter in the first place.

You can check out a full gallery of photos from the show plus links to the bands’ pages and more below!

**Photos/Review: The Pop Punk Dad

PHOTO GALLERY