RECAP: Billy Idol / Devo @ Empower FCU Amphitheater, 8/15/2026
Written by chadfromalbany on August 24, 2026
By Chad from Albany.
On my first visit to Empower Federal Credit Union in Syracuse, NY, I was pleasantly surprised by a myriad of things. One of the prime experiences at a concert is a good tailgate. It’s the old-school tribalistic aspect of music that we still have (for the time being). Unfortunately, I showed up later than I would have liked, but saw people having the best time in the parking lots that I may have seen since the ’90s. That said, I will remember that the next time that I come here – and I will … soon. Another is the setup of the lawn. The pitch of the lawn was viewable at whatever angle you are sitting at. And the accessibility to restrooms and diverse eateries (at reasonable prices, considering) is all simple. A marvelous venue indeed.
Now, onto the show. Maybe it’s because I’m a massive DEVO fan – I saw this as more of a double bill than them as an opening act. I get it – Idol has the more recognizable catalog, but DEVO is amongst the most influential and pioneering bands in the history of popular music. I am stoked to see Billy Idol (and thankfully his guitarist/music partner Steve Stevens) go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year, but I rank DEVO as my personal #1 snub for the Hall. Maybe 2027 will be kinder to them.
As the sun was starting to lower on a beautiful Syracuse evening, the famous video intro for DEVO started playing as people excitedly ventured to their seats, with red and blue energy domes starting to fill the first 15 rows, which was the vicinity that I was in. The band came out and started with the cheeky “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man),” which was their most “recent” track, being from 2010’s “Something For Everybody.” They then brought us back to 1982 with “Peek-A-Boo” from “Oh, No! It’s DEVO.”
The visuals behind the band mixed their iconic imagery with modern high-definition digital animation, using the simplicity of primarily red, black, and white colors. Modern technology uses the simplest of concepts, which is not wholly unlike DEVO and their music themselves. The concept of DEVO itself refers to the concept of de-evolution, and how we aren’t evolving from ape to man, but de-evolving from man to ape. A humorous and cynical concept by design, but you look at our society today, and where we have been since DEVO came up with this idea in 1973, you have to ask yourself how cynical it REALLY was, because it sure does ring true now more than ever.
Classics such as “That’s Good” and “Girl U Want” followed before surprisingly playing by far their most well-known track, “Whip It,” in the first half of the set. They closed the first half with 1980’s “Planet Earth” before leaving the stage for a few minutes, with a video being played in between, displaying how small we are in the galaxy, and how tiny of a blip we are here in this universe. They came out in their iconic biohazard suits and blasted into their punkish and boisterous “Uncontrollable Urge,” with genius frontman Mark Motherersbaugh tearing parts of his and his bandmates’ suits off into shreds and tossing them into the crowd. And speaking of Mothersbaugh, at 76, his brother Bob (aka Bob 1) at 74, and Jerry Casale at 78, they were moving around like it was 1986 – with Mark frantically running between the front of the stage and his synthesizer in the back, and all of the three originals jumping around like they are on their own trampolines. It was simply outstanding. And they sounded perfect. Absolutely perfect.
The rest of the set included more DEVO classics: “Mongoloid,” “Jocko Homo,” “Smart Patrol/ Mr.DNA,” and closing with “Gates of Steel.” And again, being a more vintage act, they played their most punk-heavy, uptempo tracks at the end of the show, and none of the band members looked the slightest bit winded. Their encore was 1980’s “Freedom of Choice” – an underrated political song with the brilliant and incomparable lyrics about the lack of choices we have for political candidates, and how we are forced to take what we are given, and how we should revolt against that. “In Ancient Rome there was a poem/ About a dog who found two bones/ He picked at one and licked the other/ He went in circles and he dropped dead./ Freedom of choice is what you got. Freedom FROM choice is what you want.” Brilliant. And that’s what you get from a band that formed after witnessing the Kent State shootings while they attended that college.
Like DEVO before, Billy Idol took the stage with a track from his most recent album, “Still Dancing,” from the fantastic record “Dream Into It,” before launching into the untouchable classics “Cradle of Love” and “Flesh For Fantasy.” He returned for another track from “Dream Into It” – the single “77”, which he performed with Avril Lavigne on the album. That single was a bit of a hit last year when it was released, working its way to #22 on the US Adult Pop charts. Wonderful animated artwork appeared on his incredible stage display of him and Avril looking like they were sketched on notebook paper, walking the streets together. His video display was amongst the highest quality visuals I have ever seen in the modern age, often times looking like 1980s Times Square lighting and displays, or morphing into what looked like multiple tube-driven televisions stacked on each other, each playing different footage. I am still baffled how it was pulled off. It all looked real. The resolution was unlike anything I’ve seen. Amazing.
1984’s “Eyes Without a Face” followed, with Idol’s voice sounding great, and donning only a leather vest displaying a physique that I would be proud of at 45, let alone nearing 71. And when his shirt came off briefly, the ladies in the crowd erupted.
Steve Stevens, Idol’s songwriting partner and guitarist since the dissolution of Idol’s earlier punk band, Generation X, had his moment to shine, erupting into a guitar solo that had the amphitheater on their feet with respect, and dabbling into some Led Zeppelin and Van Halen riffs in the mix. It was the perfect precursor to the iconic cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ party anthem “Mony Mony,” which highlighted his two incredible backing vocalists, Jessica Childress and Kitten Kuroi.
Speaking of Generation X, Idol soon went back to his roots with the 1978 punk rock staple “Ready Steady Go,” then into a flawless rendition of “Blue Highway.” And deep into the song, Stevens drifted into the “Top Gun Theme,” which earned him a Grammy in 1987 for “Best Pop Instrumental Performance” back in the day when the Grammys actually cared about rock musicians. The final song of the set was another sing-along classic – “Rebel Yell.” They concluded the show with Generation X’s iconic “Dancing With Myself” and my personal favorite, “Hot in the City” – the first song Idol wrote when coming to the US. And what better way to end the show than with one of the greatest songs of the ’80s – the song that won’t die, “White Wedding.”
Idol and Stevens were tremendous in look and sound, and it couldn’t have been a better time as they earn their place in the Hall of Fame this year. When the sub-genre of “Pop Punk” is brought up, you rarely hear Billy Idol mentioned, but when you see the show, you realize possibly nobody did that sound better than he and Stevens did. I can’t immediately think of a punk artist who has had so many songs that are sing-alongs that are played at weddings, sporting events, and have encompassed pop culture more than his. He literally defines the term with his catalog. This double bill was a fantastic night of nostalgia mixed with modern technology. Pioneering acts who not only left marks on culture, but molded it to what we have seen in the 90s and into today.
DEVO’s setlist can be found here:
Billy Idol’s setlist can be found here:
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