Fantastic stuff. It’s halfway through the Public Image Limited comeback gig and we’re getting a full-on tirade from Mr Lydon.
“Get off your fat arses,” he snarls at the media-gazers sitting in velvet-lined comfort on the Shepherds Bush Empire dress circle.
Anyone who wishes to remain seated can “fuck off home right now”, he continues. “Fuck off. Fuck off. Fuck off. Wankers. PiL is playing for entertainment. Don’t sit up there in judgement on us. I exist outside of the contempt of the music industry.”
A couple of ageing punks shuffle to their feet it’s true but most are happy to soak up the insults. It’s just like a classic Sex Pistols gig. Except these days Lydon has an onstage prompter to help him with the lyrics to PiL’s dense punk-funk catalogue.
After 18 years of live inactivity, this is the tour funded by Lydon’s Country Life butter adverts. There’s no Jah Wobble on subterranean bass but a group of hardy veterans replicate the hugely influential dub sounds of the 1979 Metal Box-era PiL during a two-hour set that kicks off confidently with their biggest “hit” – (This Is Not A) Love Song.
It’s the former Mr Rotten who is always the centre of attention though. A physical altercation with Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke has tarnished his own public image.
But Lydon’s in strong voice at 54, those howls of rage and anger energising highly personal material like Death Disco and Poptones, the template for numerous inferior Hoxton indie-funk outfits.
There’s a message for the “ignorant fuckers” criticising PiL’s decision to play in Israel next month. “Allah, Destroy the infidel, I take heed, Arise in the West, A new crusade.” goes Four Enclosed Walls, which should go down a storm in Tel Aviv. Lydon’s view is that he is against all governments but for playing to people, whoever they are.
To be fair, there’s also atheist mantra Religion in which Lydon volubly raises the curent Pope’s early history with the Nazis and limited response to sexual abuse in the Catholic church.
It’s a challenging, occasionally atonal evening, in which the encore of Public Image and Rise provide some welcome melodic relief. PiL’s darkest material makes the Pistols sound like the conventional rockers deep down they really were.
But the moshpit downstairs is getting more combustible with fights breaking out at the fringes. When the two-hour set finishes with the Leftfield collaboration Open Up, the crowd spill out to be greeted by the provocative sight of uniformed police officers and three police vans.
It’s another scene straight out of the Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle. There aren’t many genuine troublemakers left in music who can still conjure up chaos like the inimitable John Lydon.
PiL on tour:
Bristol, O2 Academy, UK, July 20th 2010
Oxford, O2 Academy, UK, July 21st 2010
Leeds, O2 Academy, UK, July 23rd 2010
Liverpool, O2 Academy, UK, July 24th 2010
Glasgow, O2 ABC, UK, July 26th 2010
I was there last night taking pictures and there was a nasty definite vibe to
the gig, the photo pit was over crowded so we had to go in over to sessions we were there for songs when we are kicked out by Lydons personal security.
A man who goes on the one show and then kicks out against unwanted publicity
what a hipocrite.
Public Image Ltd Shepherds Bush Empire Pictures
http://benmeadowsphoto.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/public-image-ltd-perform-at-the-shepherds-bush-empire-190710/
When is John Lydon going to wake up to the real world and start attacking the biggest atrocity that the world faces – Animal exploitation, intensive farming.
Stop throwing tantrums about shit that doesnt matter anymore John, you are repeating yourself over and over again. Concentrate on something thats worth fighting for instead of being remembered as the clown that threw his rattle out of the pram because you cant stir up the system anymore.
Great show last night but was there any need for all the abuse aimed at those of us who had bought seated tickets? I’ve been a big fan of the Pistols and PIL for many years and seen them countless times. However I bought seats at this gig as my Partner has chronic back pain and cant stand up for a whole gig these days. Lydon’s rant at those in the seats rather spoiled the whole evening for me. So he doesnt need the support of people like me and I can fuck off? Well thanks very much John! That’s probably the last PIL/Pistols gig I go to. As for buying any new material, think again Mr Lydon. You may think you are so very anti establishment and shocking but insulting your fans, particularly those with a disability, is a disgrace.