In celebration of his second album Rebel Yell turning 40 years, Billy Idol would re-release his album as an expanded edition with additional demos and remaster version of the album. On top of that he would embark on a Canadian tour to celebrate the album with a one off show in Rogers, AR with Nile Rodgers and his band CHIC. At first I wasn’t familiar with the name Nile Rodgers or the band CHIC, but once they took the stage and started playing I knew every single song. Nile’s band CHIC became a musical sensation with their famous song “Le Freak”, which they opened with, but what one might not know is that Nile has written many other famous songs. Their set started off with CHIC songs, but then went into songs like “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross, “Like A Virgin” by Madonna, “Cuff It” by Beyonce, and “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie and all these songs are related because Nile’s had a hand in writing these songs. A legend for sure, and him and his band put on a fun and energetic show that anyone of any age would enjoy. From his bass player to the back up singers, this is the ultimate party band and even though I didn’t do my homework to know who Nile Rodgers is, I loved going in with no expectations to then be blown away by the performance.

With his fist high above his head, lip arched, and chest still shown, Billy Idol still has it. Throughout his set he worked the stage from left to right and everywhere in between. There was no stopping him and his movements while making sure to give audience members a wink here and there. His set included Generation X songs like “Dancing With Myself” with majority of songs being from Rebel Yell. During mid-set Billy’s long time bandmate and collaborator Steve Stevens showcased a couple minutes of a guitar solo that had the crowd yelling for more. Billy would then bust into his iconic cover of Tommy James & The Shondells’ “Mony Mony” followed by Generation X’s “Night Of The Cadillac”.

Rounding out his set, he would perform two more songs from Rebel Yell, “Blue Highway” and “Rebel Yell”, with a Steve Stevens playing another solo but this time the Top Gun theme song. Steve composed the guitar work for the song for the movie and since it is from the 80’s this is a perfect show to perform it at. For the encore Billy performed “Hot In The City” and then one of his biggest hits “White Wedding”, a song that once the intro guitar hits and those drums it has everyone jolted into a dance and singing along. Billy Idol proves he is still an icon while performing and doesn’t look like he plans on stopping anytime soon. At 40 years old, Rebel Yell, I think, will go down as one of the greatest albums and it was fantastic to hear most of the album live.