1. “Steve, show them what a hit song sounds like, will ya?” Billy Idol instructed Steve Stevens Wednesday night, and the guitarist responded with the opening chords to “White Wedding.” The moment defined the birth of Idol’s House of Blues residency—it’s nostalgic, bombastic and over-the-top, and the audience loved it.

2. The 60-year-old Idol performs shirtless through a portion of the show, and while his abs look strong, his voice is more worrisome. During early-set hits “Cradle of Love” and “Dancing With Myself” it sounded thin, and he was nowhere near getting to his signature guttural yell. Toward the end of the night, though, he seemed to catch his macho wind.

3. “Dancing” wasn’t the only Generation X song to make the set. Also from Idol’s pre-solo band, 1979 single “King Rocker” made for a fun surprise late in the show.

4. One issue: While the backing band has plenty of musical prowess, none of its members have voices equipped to hit the high notes necessary to bring hits back to their original form. “Eyes Without a Face” sounded truest to its ’80s version.

5. Sometimes it felt like the show should have been billed “Steve Stevens featuring Billy Idol.” Guitar solos to intro songs, guitar solos mid-song (in songs intro’d with solos), guitar solos leading to other guitar solos. During “Rebel Yell,” Stevens even plucked an item—which turned out to be a toy ray gun—from the singer’s hands and used it to produce, you guessed it, another solo.

Billy Idol Forever March 25-26 & May 4, 6-7, 11, 13-14, 7 p.m., $80-$150. House of Blues, 702-632-7600.