Me talking into my remote slowly …. Billy…. Squier…Live…..Full….Concert…
This show suddenly appeared which I had never seen before. Apparently most of this German audience had never seen Billy before either. This must have been filmed in the 30 seconds before the single “The Stroke” and the album Don’t Say No took over the FM dial. There is lot’s to like here. The guitars are turned loud. Billy shows off his Berklee school of music guitar chops before “Lonely is the Night” which you don’t see very often. He likes to hide his technical prowess. Sort of like Rick Nielsen does. His dance moves are in fine form on “My Kinda Lover” which proves those “Rock Me Tonight” steps weren’t any corporate jive. The band plays with that special energy of a group that hasn’t made it yet. They have a chip on their shoulder. It’s obvious these guys believe in this music and are excited to be playing together even if the crowd isn’t reciprocating in the same fashion. “This isn’t Kraftwerk.” And of course, drummer Bobby Chouinard is an absolute beast on the skins. Dude is the living definition of laid-back rockin’ and his fills are hooks in themselves. It’s impossible to overstate his contribution to Billy’s success. Wait, what? Somebody wrote a book about him? This will be on the shelves of Colin’s Coffee tomorrow.
Anyway, enjoy the show and for further reading check out my ranking of the first 39 Billy Squier songs. Stroke Me? Stroke you! - Colin
Encore: Interesting version of “The Stroke.”