PiL on Tour

[son of albert]

Went to see them in Leeds last night. I was blown away. Unexpectedly wonderful. Albatross and Death Disco were highlights for me - a level if intensity and passion I haven't seen for a long time. There are still tickets for the rest of the tour...............go.

[Gazza]

Can't imagine that they'll be coming to Aus, unfortunately, but I'd be along like a shot if I was in the UK. The ability to find that intensity has always been one of Lydon's hallmarks. This might be my memory playing tricks on me, but I'm pretty sure he even managed it with the Holiday Inn band. For most of the set, anyway.

[Eke]

I was listening to Metal Box on the train this morning - still one of my favourite albums and one I've bought more times than any other I think.

My wells of nostalgia didn't run deep enough for the new PiL tour - my mistake probably. I know the Dame is going so let's hope she drops by to give us a review as well.

[Gazza]

Only bought one copy of the original, but managed to work my way through three or four copies before they got round to Second Edition. At the time I thought they were faulty and Virgin didn't bother to argue. Returned the discs on their own to save on postage, but they'd happily send me another full set – canister, track list and all. Looking back, it's obvious that you were never going to track Wobble's basslines on a 12" single through a fifties Dansette and, sure enough, the earliest vinyl that survived was the 33rpm version.

When you think of the number of times that must have happened up and down the country, the original pressing of 50,000 was probably only a fraction of that a few months later. Have a strong suspicion that it also played a part in so much of the bass going awol for Second Edition.

Heard that the tins are very good for shortbread, but never tested it. Still have at least two of the tins though.

[Adam]

I know the Dame is going so let's hope she drops by to give us a review as well.

Ja, going on Monday, watch this space --->

Friend of mine in the *know* informs me that the promoters are really taking a beating on this tour.
2nd London show downgraded to a much smaller venue.

[Urpal]

A PiL gig & christmas cheer do seem incongruous concepts. Which only makes me wonder why Im not going. Scrooge and John Lydon definitely do hang together. John's made a career of bah humbugging it up.

[son of albert]

I'm sure the promoters are taking a beating. The Leeds show was about half to two thirds full.

That's still a few hundred people who got to hear most of the first two LPs alongside bits of Flowers of Romance, later Lps and a blistering Lydon/Leftfield. Aside from the odd moment of nostalgia or pantomime it fel very intense.

Lydon explains here about his Mother's influence.....good interviews

John Lydon / PIL 2009, 1/2	DQ

John Lydon / PIL, 2009, 2/2	DQ

Gazza - are your tins rusty like mine?

[Gazza]

Mine aren't rusty as such, but they are covered in fingerprints that have gone black. Probably helps that they've been in Adelaide for the past ten years or so. We don't really do rust here. How many did you get through?

Makes perfect sense to me that the shows are half empty. Would have seen them something like four or five times in the early to mid-eighties, and back then a significant part of the crowd were only there because they couldn't see the Pistols. With all of their reunions recently, I'm guessing that part of the crowd stayed at home.

Can't say that it was great musically, but I still cherish the memory of the cabaret piano version of Anarchy that Lydon once threw them. He certainly knew how to get a crowd on the wrong side. And how to gorge himself on that energy.

[Jonathan Alley]

All this has made me go back and listen to lots of my PIL stuff. That What is Not really was the most dreadful record (until John issued his solo album. remember that? bow...wow.) Though I admit a sneaking admiration of 'Cruel'. However, I've loved re-visiting Order of Death and Chant; they made some thoroughly thrilling records in their earlier years and I'd go see them if Jah Wobble was with them (and I understand he's not: shame). This also reminds me to offer a recommendation: Lu Edmonds has made a record with Justin Adams (Tinariwen producer, plays with Robert Plant) called Les Triaboliques. Kind of mutated blues played on medieval instruments: and it's very, very good.

[Eke]

I've just discovered that the Lydon/Sex Pistols/PiL DVD has three unreleased Metal Box mixes as audio extras thanks to a bit of poking around due to this thread so cheers SOA and I have my order in at amazon right now!

Oh, and my box went very rusty some time back.

[son of albert]

Mine aren't rusty as such, but they are covered in fingerprints that have gone black. Probably helps that they've been in Adelaide for the past ten years or so. We don't really do rust here. How many did you get through?

Makes perfect sense to me that the shows are half empty. Would have seen them something like four or five times in the early to mid-eighties, and back then a significant part of the crowd were only there because they couldn't see the Pistols. With all of their reunions recently, I'm guessing that part of the crowd stayed at home.

Can't say that it was great musically, but I still cherish the memory of the cabaret piano version of Anarchy that Lydon once threw them. He certainly knew how to get a crowd on the wrong side. And how to gorge himself on that energy.

I never saw them in the eighties. My older bro reckons that the "cabaret" tour - at the same time they did The Tube so about 1983 - included his worst gig ever.

[Gazza]

The one I saw felt like it was going to end up with Lydon being torn apart. I've never seen a performer who so obviously hated the majority of his audience, and was prepared to go after them like that.

In conventional terms, though, it wasn't really up to much. The band obviously had no real idea what they'd let themselves in for, were completely out of their depth and looked rather scared, but they at least managed to do what was asked of them rather than giving in to what the crowd wanted.

[Adam]

Well that was alright. Brixton pretty much full (at £40 a throw!) and he really does mean it man. He is really proud of this stuff and it shows. That's not news to those of you that care but it seems worth repeating that there was absolutely no cabaret aspect to this.

Flagged occasionally - 'Psycopath' is obscure for a good reason and 'Warrior' and 'Sun' absolutely stank the room out - the former preceded by a little lecture on the joys of multiculturalism, perhaps in case the BNP were thinking about using it as a theme tune - as well they might.  But there were times when my head was melting with pleasure. First half hour was incredible and 'Religion', with Lydon hectoring for 'MORE BASS' was about as intense a musical experience I can remember since, er, seeing Sunn 0))) last week. Though the people you really want to see on stage with him are not there, this is def a band worthy of the name.

Would have liked 'Fishing' instead of one/both of the aforementioned shockers but otherwise, a pretty great show.

Audience - lots of men of a certain age. I even thought I'd seen Gerooki at one point 

[Gerooki]

er.... not me.

I was nearing the end of a nightmare 16 hour journey from Brussells courtesy of Mr Eurostar 

In fact we went through Brixton at about 8.00, maybe that was where you saw me 

[Gazza]

Just came across some stuff from the Leeds show on YouTube – looks like it was a seriously good gig. Really didn't expect the intensity they found in Flowers Of Romance, and was completely astonished when they got to the end of Open Up that there were only four of them. Some suggestions of new material to come in a rather good interview at Quietus.