Billy Idol & Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – TD Pavilion at The Mann – Philadelphia (A PopEntertainment.com Concert Review)
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Billy Idol & Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – TD Pavilion at The Mann – Philadelphia, PA – August 16, 2025
It was the ‘80s all over again at the Mann as two of the biggest names of pop-punk took dives into their popular songbooks. Both acts still have their angry young musical energy, even if neither of them is young anymore, and also probably don’t have as much to be angry about. Still, surprisingly many of these songs still rocked the house.
Both artists became big solo successes after being part of a respected punk band which never quite broke out – Generation X for Billy and The Runaways for Joan. Each act played two songs from these older bands, although Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself” is much better known for Billy’s later solo version.
Fun trivia fact: both bands also did their own hit cover version of a Tommy James and the Shondells tune from 1968, with Billy Idol doing “Mony Mony” (which Idol topped the charts with in 1987) and Jett doing “Crimson and Clover” (which the Blackhearts turned into a hit in 1982). What are the odds that there would be versions of two songs from that one act in that one year? Somewhere Tommy James is smiling.
Of course, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ career is full of cover songs that they made their own. Hell, even their breakthrough hit and signature song “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was a cover song, although the original by The Arrows was relatively obscure in the United States and it was Jett’s take on the song which made it popular. Probably about a third of Jett’s 15-song setlist was made up of cover versions, closing in on half if you consider the Runaways songs as covers.
However, they kicked things off with one of their own, a slamming version of “Victim of Circumstance” from their breakthrough second album. Then she rammed into the Runaway’s signature tune “Cherry Bomb.” Jett’s own big hits started to come out after that, starting with a strutting version of the Blackheart’s “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” a song written and originally performed by the since-disgraced glam rocker Gary Glitter.
The next several songs were made up of the second Runaways song “You Drive Me Wild,” and some deep cuts and newer tracks. She somewhat got political with “Change the World,” telling the audience that as she was driving into her hometown of Philadelphia, suddenly she was struck by the line from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – “Of the people, by the people, for the people,” a line which she chanted several times, apparently in protest of some of the recent political and social changes in the United States.
She then closed her set down with a powerful block of five straight hits, including some of her biggest. The first was her hard-edged cover of the recently departed Sly Stone’s “Everyday People.” This was followed up by “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” – which still packs a wallop nearly 45 years after it was a hit – and her crunching psychedelic rock version of “Crimson and Clover.” She then closed out with two of her most iconic originals, the pop-rock slammer “I Hate Myself For Loving You” and her punk anthem “Bad Reputation.”
When Billy Idol took the stage, he wanted to make sure that the audience knew that he was not just a legacy act. Two of the first four songs in his set were from his 2025 album Dream Into It, both the hard driving “Still Dancing” and a solo version of his Avril Lavigne duet “77.” Later on in the set, he played the new party anthem “Too Much Fun,” which was inspired by his time spent with a motorcycle gang a couple of years ago.
However the hits started early too, with his jailbait fantasy “Cradle of Love” and the sultry “Flesh For Fantasy” storming out of the gates. Then he turned things down a bit with a gorgeous version of his ethereal new wave ballad “Eyes Without a Face,” which was followed by an extended guitar solo by Idol’s longtime guitarist Steve Stevens.
Idol was still a fun and exciting performer, biting into such songs “Blue Highway” (done as a medley with “Top Gun Anthem”) and a snarling cover of Generation X’s “Ready Steady Go” that was done in tribute to the recently passed Ozzy Osborne. Ever the fashion plate, Idol had more costume changes than a Beyonce show, and even occasionally going shirtless, showing off a still impressive frame for a 69-year-old man.
Idol’s own little stretch of cover versions followed with the raucous party-vibed “Mony Mony” followed by a shockingly good duet cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” with backing vocalist Jessica Childress torching the Merry Clayton part as Billy took on Mick Jagger.
Speaking of Mick, later Idol told a story of how Mick, as well as Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, drinking a strange brown liquor at a 1983 birthday party, gave Idol the title for his hit “Rebel Yell,” which led the band into the encore in high spirits.
The earlier mentioned “Dancing With Myself” led into the encore with spunk and vigor, sounding surprisingly timeless for a song that is well over 40 years old. Idol then did his first solo hit, “Hot in the City,” which was inspired by his early days living in New York right after going solo. Needless to say, Idol replaced the lyrical shout out to “New York” from the original song with “Philadelphia.”
Things closed out with arguably Idol’s most idolized song, the throbbing and dangerous punk rock of “White Wedding,” which more than anything else made the guy an MTV star. As he snarled, sneered and crashed through the dark imagery of the lyrics, it felt like it was 1983 all over again, when Idol was still an MTV superstar and the world was both more dangerous and strangely much more innocent.
When there's nothing left to lose, and nothing else to prove, Billy Idol had the chance to ask Philadelphia to dance. And we were glad to join him.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2025 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: August 18, 2025.
Photos by Kaylee Marie © 2025. All rights reserved.
