September 1st, 2022
Caupolican Theater, Chile
It was a very cold winter night full of political turmoil because in a few more days there was going to be an election for the new Chilean Constitution (which sadly failed to be approved), so the mood was unease.
Franklin (a Chilean rock band) was the opening act.
At 21.00 the lights went off, and the stage illuminated itself, one by one starting Billy Idol’s band musicians taking their place behind their instruments. When it was the moment for Steve Stevens (Billy’s long-time guitarist) the crowd loudly cheered and then, of course, Billy. It was his debut in Chile, his first time, his first concert. We were expectant.
The show began with the classics “Dancing With Myself”, “Cradle Of Love” and “Flesh For Fantasy”, for any 80s fan this was a real treat. Then it was the turn of their latest single, the powerful “Cage”. After that, Billy introduced “Speed”, a heavy song that was part of Speed’s soundtrack (Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock movie). At that moment the madness began, some punk guys entered violently to the Theater and started to cause a riot inside, the cops came and started to spray tear gas outside to disperse the riots, but the gas entered the room, and we all started to cough and feel short of breath, teary eyes, etc., even Billy, who was coughing harder at this point. A producer came on stage and explained to Billy what happened, and then he told us we will have to wait for things to calm down to continue the show.
I went to the entrance to breathe a little better and found some girls crying and scared at what had just happened. I, having a lot of experience in concerts (and a few of these problems before) didn’t know what to expect or if it was going to calm down or just get worse. I didn’t feel very well at that moment, so I decided to leave, minding my own security because I went (as usual) alone. Before I left, after 30 minutes of break, they played “Speed” again and the show continued, but I was determined to leave, so I did.
The next day, I regret leaving the concert early, because I read that the show continued without problems and Billy was very happy with all that occurred that night. I guess the stars didn’t line up for me that night, but the songs and the part of the show I experienced were great, showing that no matter what age rock is still alive and well, and in this case, more specifically: punk (in every sense of the word).
