Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 25, 2024

The name "Billy Idol" and phrase "American history lesson" have probably rarely if ever been used in tandem before, and yet Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam begins with the legendary rocker detailing some of the incredible story of the construction of what has often been called one of the civil engineering miracles of the modern era. While inquiring minds might want to know exactly how this happened (and full details aren't imparted), Idol and his band somehow managed to finagle the first ever live performance at Hoover Dam, to an invited audience of VIPs. Rather weirdly, this is now the second live concert Blu-ray I've reviewed that featured the conceit of a well known band appearing in some iconic location performing for a small invited crowd, the other one being Duran Duran: A Hollywood High (few would probably argue that the Capitol Records building and Hollywood sign, however iconic they may be, can match the visual "wow factor" of Hoover Dam). While the bulk of this presentation features a highly enjoyable performance by Billy and his full band, there's also some introductory material that "sets the stage", so to speak, and which features Billy and longtime collaborator Steve Stevens wending their way through various "off limits" sections of the facility to arrive at a rooftop where they give an abbreviated quasi-unplugged (Steve is still amped) performance. It adds up to a really remarkable experience, and the even better news is that Billy and the band sound fantastic throughout.

The setlist for the full band performance is:

1. Cradle of Love
2. Dancing with Myself
3. Flesh for Fantasy
4. Cage
5. Bitter Taste
6. Eyes Without a Face
7. Dementia
8. Many Many
9. To Be a Lover
10. John Wayne
11. Running from the Ghost
12. One Hundred Punks
13. Blue Highway
14. Rebel Yell
15. Hot in the City
16. White Wedding

Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of a consortium of producing entities including Vertigo Live, Kaleidoscope Entertainment and MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. This is an unusually scenic live concert presentation and the repeated use of some amazing drone footage gives a scale and perspective that is rarely seen even in outdoor live performance videos. Detail levels are typically great throughout, and the concert lasts long enough that blazing sun turns to night, without any marked deficits in fine detail resulting. Occasional stagecraft bells and whistles (and/or dry ice effects) can offer a few hazy moments, but the bulk of this presentation is sharp, clear and well defined. There is some archival video documenting the history of Hoover Dam that is understandably pretty ragged looking.

Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam features Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 audio options, and you can't really go wrong with any of them. I frankly kind of preferred the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track to the Atmos track in terms of the surround offerings, since the Atmos track has a slightly more disbursed quality that does offer substantial immersion but perhaps not quite the focus, especially in the midrange, that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track does. All three tracks feature excellent fluidity and superb fidelity, and both vocals and accompaniments are presented without any issues whatsoever.

Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Steve Stevens Q & A with Fans (HD; 13:09) is an audio supplement with some fun moments. This plays to a photo of Stevens.


• Acoustic Dam Performance (HD; 14:50) offers Billy and Steve performing To Be a Lover, Eyes Without a Face, and Rebel Yell.

Additionally, the DigiPack is housed in a slipbox and itself encloses an insert.

Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm frankly not that huge of a Billy Idol fan, but I found this concert and/or history lesson to be unusually engaging. One thing it definitely points out is how criminally underappreciated Steve Stevens has been. The band sounds fantastic, and the setting just is amazing. Technical merits are solid, and Billy Idol: State Line - Live at the Hoover Dam comes Recommended.