Idol Eyes at Sharkey's: Billy Idol Never Looked So Good As They Open For Radiohead Tribute Hearing Damage

By Joanie Cox Henry

[Left to Right] Stevan Carter, Morgan McCormick, Brad Raker, Oscar Dorta and Fernando Santomaggio Photo By Susie Fineberg

You know that Billy Idol sneer? The one that says I dare you not to have fun? Idol Eyes frontman Brad Raker has mastered it! As the vocal force of nature behind Idol Eyes, a brand new Billy Idol tribute band based in South Florida, he and his bandmates are keeping things "Hot In The City Tonight."

Raker writhes and rocks on stage as he becomes Billy Idol before your eyes. Raker is not playing a character. He is the real thing. With a vocal career that started at age ten and touring credits that include opening for Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper, and Robert Palmer, Raker brings a pedigree to the Idol Eyes stage that most tribute band frontmen can only dream about. Sunday night that experience showed in every single moment. His voice soared, his stage presence was magnetic, and he worked the crowd at Sharkey's like a man who has been doing this his whole life, because he has.

The line up in this band is honestly like a fantasy football list of local legends. Stevan Carter, who has shared stages with Joan Jett and earned praise from Grammy-winning producers, brought every bit of that pedigree to Sharkey's on Sunday night. His guitar work was tight, tasteful, and genuinely thrilling. Stevan Carter on guitar is the engine underneath all of that swagger, delivering riffs with the kind of clean, confident authority that makes hard rock feel effortless. His spikey black wig only added to the fun of this set as he tore into guitar solos that could make Idol's own guitarist Steve Stevens weep. Just call him Stevan Stevens while he's up there now!

On bass, funkmaster Fernando Santomaggio plays bass the way the great ones including Jaco and Flea always have: like the song depends on it, because it does. Santomaggio doesn't just play music. His body is a conduit for it. Sunday night he was the anchor that held everything together and the pulse that kept the whole room moving. He is also an absolute blast to watch live, all fire and feel and effortless cool, which is why South Florida photographers treat a Fernando Santomaggio show like a shooting holiday. The man simply cannot take a bad photo, because he never plays a dull moment. There are no idle eyes when Idol Eyes is up on stage, especially when Santomaggio is slapping his Music Man Stingray. It could make one ponder 'Whatcha doin' in my waters, Stingray?' And that Stingray is always welcome! His vocal contributions rounded out Idol Eyes' full, layered sound beautifully.

Morgan McCormick is the kind of keyboard player who makes a band sound bigger than it is. A lifelong pianist who has turned her passion into a career, she brought taste, touch, and genuine flavor to every song in the set. Her keyboard work added layers that the songs needed and textures that most people in the crowd probably felt more than they consciously noticed, which is the highest compliment you can pay a musician in her role.

Oscar Dorta played two full tribute sets in one night and somehow looked like he was having the time of his life through both of them. His drumming with Idol Eyes was precise, and completely locked in, the kind of playing that makes a band feel three times its size. And then he stayed behind the kit for Hearing Damage and delivered an entirely different performance without missing a beat. Literally.

Sunday night at Sharkey's in Deerfield Beach, Idol Eyes delivered a performance so charged, so fun, and so unapologetically loud that the only appropriate response was to curl your lip and pump your fist. So everybody did.

But let's talk about the venue for a moment, because Sharkey's deserves applause too. This is a room that knows what it's doing. And its owner, Richard Kushner, is the biggest supporter of local music in South Florida. He totally gets it because he's a musician too! The layout is comfortable without feeling cavernous, the sightlines are great from just about anywhere you plant yourself, and the sound? Crisp, punchy, and perfectly dialed in all night long, thanks to sound engineer Randy LaPierre, who kept every instrument and vocal sitting right where it needed to be in the mix. Good sound at a live show sounds simple. It isn't. Randy makes it happen.

Idol Eyes Takes the Stage

Idol Eyes opened with "Blue Highway" and the room shifted gears immediately. The song set the tone perfectly, all shimmer and attitude, and the crowd leaned in from the first note. From there the set rolled through a greatest-hits run that felt less like a checklist and more like a genuine celebration. "White Wedding." "Eyes Without a Face." "Hot in the City." "Cradle of Love." "Sweet 16." "Mony Mony." Each one landed with the weight of a song that means something to the people in the room, which is exactly how a great tribute band earns its keep.

The standout curveball of the night was a fierce, unexpected cover of The Doors' "L.A. Woman." "L.A. Woman" showed off a darker, more expansive side of the group, and the crowd responded accordingly. Idol Eyes are not just note-for-note recreationists. They are a real band with real instincts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa-4Mte5m_E

When Idol Eyes launched into "Rebel Yell," which was their final song of the night, it was one of those moments where a room full of strangers becomes a room full of friends. The crowd sang every word. More, more, more. Of course they did. With a set this good, who wouldn't want more?

Hearing Damage Closes the Night

If Idol Eyes set the room on fire, Hearing Damage kept it burning. The definitive Radiohead tribute experience, Hearing Damage moved through three decades of one of rock's most influential catalogs with both precision and authentic emotion. It is no small thing to take on songs this layered and atmospheric and make them work in a club setting. Sunday night at Sharkey's, they made it look easy.

There is something wonderfully satisfying about a double bill this well-matched. Two tribute acts. Two iconic bands. One incredible night.

Idol Eyes continues to perform across South Florida. Follow them on Facebook for upcoming shows. Radiohead tribute Hearing Damage can be found at hearingdamage.net. Check out who's playing Sharkey's next at Sharkeysfl.com/