Trick Or Treat! Band Gets Idol -- Afterward, Rock Artist Is Subdued

Wait until Jesse Helms hears about this!

Last night at the Billy Idol concert in the Coliseum - before 14,000 impressionable young minds - there was full frontal nudity. Not mooning, not streaking, but five naked men letting it all hang out as they bopped on stage to Idol's final song, ``To Be A Lover.'' Their faces were covered by T-shirts or masks, but other than that they were buck naked.

It was a Halloween trick on Idol by the opening band, Faith No More. Idol knew something was coming, because he told the crowd that it was last show of the tour and that, traditionally, bands play tricks on each other on the final night.

But still Idol was obviously bowled over when the guys came out in a conga line, then surrounded him as he tried to continue the song. A big grin came over his face and he exchanged looks with his band members, but kept plugging away. It wasn't until they danced off that he lost it. He stopped singing, broke into a laugh and blushed. Imagine - Billy Idol blushed!

The trick was in retaliation for one played earlier on Faith No More. During their last song, dead fish were dumped on the band from above (a reference to a controversial Faith No More video that shows a dying fish flopping on the ground.) Lead singer Mike Patton threw handfuls of the fish into the audience, and stuffed some down his pants. The main floor reeked of dead fish during intermission.

Except for the nudism, and some Jim Morrison-like rolling on the floor, Idol was tamer than before. He toned down his nasty, snarling image considerably - his upper lip hardly curled at all. He did fewer hard rock songs, concentrating on the more thoughtful material from his new album, ``Charmed Life.''

But the audience loved the old rockers best, especially ``Rebel Yell'' - with the crowd yelling ``More, more, more!'' - ``White Wedding'' and ``Mony Mony.'' The audience also sang along on the latter, adding a litany of expletives during the chorus, a ritual that apparently started in dance clubs and has become an Idol concert tradition.

Of the new songs, the crowd reacted strongest to the slow-rocking ``Cradle of Love,'' the first single from ``Charmed Life,'' and a rousing cover of the Doors' ``L.A. Women,'' to which Idol added some snippets of ``Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee,'' the old Jerry Lee Lewis hit.

Some clues to Idol's new maturity came when he talked about his serious motorcycle accident 19 months ago, the days he lay in bed fearful that his right leg would have to be amputated, the five operations to save the leg, and the therapy that followed. He arrived on stage with a walking stick but soon threw it away and moved normally, although he didn't dance as much as before and went off stage several times for short breaks.

He also talked about his role in Oliver Stone's upcoming movie about Jim Morrison, ``The Doors.'' He said not to look for his blond hair - he wears a long black wig and a beard, playing a drinking buddy of Morrison.

Faith No More, which is getting a reputation as rock's wackiest new band, opened with a funny, intense set that had elements of punk, hard-rock, rap and pop. Patton wore hairy britches that made him look like a satyr as he stomped around in exaggerated giant steps, flopped on the drum stand and banged against speaker cabinets. He sang the Nestles' candy commercial, some New Kids on the Block and Lionel Richie's ``Easy,'' as well as most of Faith No More's ``The Real Thing'' album. Best received was ``Epic,'' with the crowd singing along to the song's recurring phrase, ``What is it?''