Live: PiL @ O2 Indigo

by | Jun 10, 2016

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

If you can forgive those adverts for the butter (and please do – actually they were pretty funny and they did fund new PiL music, so let’s all just get over it, shall we?), John Lydon must surely be one of the most iconic musical artists still occupying a stage. Tonight’s stage was the O2 Indigo, the second (but still significant) performance space under the East London tent. The gig was part of a tour promoting PiL’s 2015 self-released album What The World Needs Now and the scheduled stage time was 8.45pm.

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

At 8.45pm precisely (it’s all a little less anarchistic these days) PiL came onto the Indigo stage accompanied by chants of “Johnny, Johnny”. Johnny responded with part smile, part scowl, and we were off. PiL have been around nearly as long as Lydon it seems; a remarkable thirty-eight years in fact – albeit with a sixteen-year hiatus from 1993. There have been multiple line-up changes in that time, the only consistency being generated by Lydon himself. The current band of Lydon on vocals, Lu Edmonds on guitars, Scott Firth on bass and Bruce Smith on drums is the one that reformed with the filthy butter cash in 2009 and is the most consistent line-up of any. It’s no surprise that they seemed entirely at ease with each other.

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

They opened with Albatross, a song that contains the staple ingredients of what PiL is all about: throbbing bass and drums, ethereal swirling guitars, guttural, snarling vocals. These days he’s not Rotten, there’s no running about, no gobbing, and his hair no longer defies gravity. Lydon occasionally relies on the lyrics that are before him atop a lectern and he occasionally wears glasses too, though whether this is to help with seeing the words or the audience isn’t entirely obvious. Were it not for the racket, the other three musicians and the giant ‘PiL’ logo hanging behind him, he looks like he could be delivering a speech at party conference. The only difference being that his opinions and convictions might actually be worth something. He’s not afraid to share those convictions either: introducing The One by growling “This is a love song for our soldiers who are still out there fighting over a fucking little bit of sand. This is our England and I love it!”.

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

The new record was well represented tonight with no less than seven songs coming from it, though not surprisingly the highlights came in the form of the older stuff that was played. Religion, a none too subtle pop at the Catholic Church, was epic, if very, very long. For this Scott Firth played an electric upright bass, presumably because the Fender Jazz he wore the rest of the time didn’t vibrate deeply enough through internal organs. “Do you like the bass?” asked Lydon part way through the song. We did. “Turn up the bass!” he cried moments later. ‘That’s not possible’ we all thought. Wrong. It was possible. The bass became trouser flappingly loud. The set closed with Rise, a sing-a-long classic and the floor, filled with middle-aged, middle class ex-punks duly obliged. It ought to be a condition of entry at PiL gigs that you bring a photo of what you looked like 40 years ago.

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

PiL performing at the O2 Indigo on 4 June 2016 (Simon Reed | Musical Pictures)

They came back out with I’m Not Satisfied and Shoom, both from the new record, sandwiching Leftfield’s Open Up – the only cover of the night. The encore was practically a gig in itself. In total, PiL played for 2 hours; not bad going considering the singer is just into his seventh decade. Lydon might have disgustingly helped increase sales of churned milk fat eight years ago, but the wide grins leaving the O2 tonight indicated an audience bereft of any concerns of selling out or feelings of being short-changed. Lydon and his band felt as fresh, invigorated and relevant now as they ever have and long may it continue.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000tYTVkBtL.Uk” g_name=”PiL-O2-Indigo” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”t” f_fullscreen=”t” f_smooth=”t” f_up=”t” f_topbar=”t” f_show_watermark=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_mtrx=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”740″ height=”555″ f_constrain=”t” bgcolor=”#ffffff” bgtrans=”t” btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” twoup=”t” trans=”flip” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_bbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” target=”_self” ]

Review and Photography by Simon Reed of PiL on Saturday 4th June 2016.

See more of Simon Reed’s music photography on his personal website: www.musicalpictures.co.uk

 

She Made Me Do It (Myura Amara)

She Made Me Do It Return With ‘Pulverised’ EP

London-based post-punk electro-rock trio She Made Me Do It have announced the release of their brand-new EP...
GeeJay (Phoebe Nightingale)

GeeJay Share New Track ‘Murder’ And Announce Biggest Headline Show To Date

North London soul-pop duo GeeJay have unveiled their brand new track Murder and announced details of their biggest...
YES (Gottlieb Bros.)

YES Announce 2026 UK Tour Celebrating ‘Fragile’

Progressive rock legends YES have announced their return to the UK with a nine-date tour in spring 2026, following the...
Hannah McFarland (Chris Ashlee)

“It Has Been a Whirlwind” — But Hannah McFarland Is Just Getting Started

Alabama country singer Hannah McFarland has barely had a chance to catch her breath. Since releasing her Broken Hearts EP in February, her career has skyrocketed with opportunities she once only dreamed of.

Lewis Capaldi @ Glastonbury Festival 2023 (Kalpesh Patel)

BST Hyde Park 2026 Kicks Off With Garth Brooks And Lewis Capaldi As First Headliners

BST Hyde Park has announced the first two headliners for its 2026 edition, setting the stage for another blockbuster...
Blondshell @ Electric Brixton (Kalpesh Patel)

Blondshell Brings Electric Brixton To Boil On First Night Of London Double-Header

Sabrina Teitelbaum — better known as Blondshell — has built her reputation on raw honesty and songs that cut deep, and...
Ash @ Scala (Kalpesh Patel)

Ash Light Up Scala & Celebrate Ad Astra With Career-Spanning Set And Graham Coxon Collaboration

There was a palpable sense of anticipation outside North London venue Scala on Wednesday night as Ash returned for the...
Callum Beattie @ Glastonbury Festival 2017 (Kalpesh Patel)

Callum Beattie Announces New Album ‘INDI’ And 2026 Tour Dates, Including Biggest Headline Show Yet at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro

Scottish singer-songwriter Callum Beattie has announced details of his third studio album INDI, set for release on...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing