Pop Music Review : Atomic Playboys in the Land of Disenchantment

Opening a show with Led Zep-pelin’s classic “Communication Breakdown” can be heard either as an act of bravery (it ain’t easy takin’ on the Mighty Zep) or a means of setting an appropriate tone (we’re gonna thrash this sucker) for the evening. In the strange case of Steve Stevens Atomic Playboys’ show at the Roxy on Wednesday, all it proved was that the former Billy Idol guitarslinger-turned-frontman can put together a unit that’s at least as good as any other bar band.

Padded with a spectacularly ill-chosen James Brown selection (“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”) and an OK version of the Sweet’s glamrocka “Action” (the latter also found on the quintet’s recent album debut), the hour-plus set slid slickly into the Land of Disenchantment. Stevens spewed up hot licks like a malevolent rock ‘n’ roll Cuisinart, but none of ‘em connected into anything resembling an indelible melody or a memorable song.

Having a charisma-free vocalist is no help, either. Interestingly, the one song that Stevens himself sang--in a rough-hewn, offhanded but not unprofessional manner--lent one of the few glimmers of personality to the proceedings.