Joan Jett and Billy Idol first crossed paths in 1978, somewhere between a Germs gig and the Whiskey A Go Go – back when punk was still chewing through the walls of the Sunset Strip and neither of them had a video on MTV, let alone a platinum record. Nearly five decades later, they finally shared a stage as co-headliners, and the result was something more than a nostalgia trip. It was a reunion. A reckoning. A reminder that legacy doesn’t mean looking back – it means showing up. And, we showed up. Even if it meant were singing along to rock anthems born of rebellion and polished by radio in a venue where a beer costs twenty bucks, a kimchi sausage runs thirty. The only thing louder than the amps was the sound of capitalism cashing in.
He performed masculinity the way Bowie performed gender…
Toronto’s Budweiser Stage is a long way from the spit-soaked clubs of their early days. I didn’t expect them to play at a dive, but I also didn’t expect to get radicalized at the concession stand on the Toronto waterfront. Honestly, the Budweiser Stage may be corporate, clean, and cashless, but rock’s ghosts still rattled the walls and last night, they howled right on cue.
Last night, Jett & Idol had their own rebellion: refusing to age out, refusing to shut up, refusing to let the system shrink them down to a nostalgia act with good lighting and no bite.
Joan Jett, on stage at the Molson Amphetheatre in Toronto, Ontario for the “It’s a Nice Day to… Tour Again” tour.
Joan hit first, unbothered and all business, shredding through her set with the exact amount of force expected of a relentless rock legend. It was a strong 15 song opener, a mix of new and old that had people racing to their seats – Joan Jett is no typical opener. Then came Billy – strutting, snarling, and shedding shirts like it was his side gig. The concert was a collision of two careers that rewired rock’s DNA. They melded punk’s defiance with mass appeal and turned their outsider energy into legacies that still influence acts to this day. Each one of them was so critical to pop culture in their own unique way.
Joan Jett’s appeal was unashamedly all her own. Before she was a household name in North America, she was already a star in Japan. She and her team produced early music videos and shipped them overseas, a tactic to circumnavigate American radio gatekeepers. While U.S. labels dismissed The Runaways, Japanese networks aired them in heavy rotation, captivated by their all-female rebellious vibe. When The Runaways fell apart, she doubled down. With no label support, no MTV, and no traditional path to success, Jett self-funded her own solo music videos, distributing them to European and Australian broadcasters, Japanese TV, and anywhere that might bite. These weren’t vanity projects. They were tactical moves – a visual portfolio designed to force the industry to see her, even when they wouldn’t listen.
Joan Jett wasn’t just building a career – she was building a brand and she didn’t rely on a label to turn the cameras towards her. She made the cameras turn, all while staring directly into the lens and dared them to blink first.
I didn’t expect them to play at a dive, but I also didn’t expect to get radicalized at the concession stand on the Toronto waterfront
For most people in the audience, I wonder if they really understand the importance of Joan Jett, she didn’t just play the game – she saw the system and outmaneuvered it in a multi-generational career that brought her to the Amphitheatre stage last night.
Billy Idol on stage during the “it’s a nice day to tour again” tour at the Molson Amphitheater Toronto, Ontario 2025
Where as Billy Idol brought punk into the pop spotlight without sanding off its edges. He treated MTV not just as a promotional tool but as a stage. Without diluting his sound, he brought his sneer, hair, and iconic theatricality to tear down the polished genre-loyal male rock stars of the time.
His shirtless strut, wild platinum hair and heavy eyeliner were more than aesthetics, they were rewriting society’s code on what it meant to be a sex symbol. Despite the gender non-conforming use of aesthetics, he never mocked femininity or queerness. In fact, to queer audiences accustomed to reading subtext, it wasn’t subtle. Because Billy Idol wasn’t just striking – he was magnetic. He performed masculinity the way Bowie performed gender: stylized, exaggerated, and completely in control. And, also like Bowie, queer audiences saw the camp; straight fans saw the sex.
Today’s artists borrow from that playbook all the time – whether they know it or not. But that doesn’t mean they’re chasing ghosts. It means Jett and Idol got there first.
The It’s a Nice Day To… Tour Again! kicked off in the Arizona heat on April 30 and runs straight through to late September. The tour covers 28 dates split across two legs – all with Joan Jett opening each night for Billy Idol. The first leg – twelve cities, that ended with this show in Toronto – felt like a warm-up, if legends needed warming up. The second leg, is an arena heavy finale, Madison Square Gardens, Red Rocks, the Forum – it screams Jett and Idol aren’t built for burnout.
This tour is history. Two legends that came from the same scene, the same time, but this was the first time they cooked together and they burned it down and left the stage smoking.
Cool.
Marie Nicola
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