Public Image Ltd (PiL)

It is always great to see down to Earth public image Ltd. Never light in subject matter or advice. PiL come across as a happy bunch that all get on well, which I feel is a good thing for Mr. Lydon going through all the years his had of fall outs, ego trips, split ups, arguments and court cases.
The voice of Lydon seems to be going more operatic as he gets more and more experienced in what his trying to reach personally I feel. PiL are not a live musical jam anymore of which is a shame, but instead PiL are a well worked out tight unit with timing most essential on prerecorded drum beats and synthesisers, they educate you while they make you dance. Lydon writes as it is in this World today and informs of the things in life that should be well avoided.
Starting off the set with warrior was great in a country like Japan that obviously has a huge history of Warriors and questions people if they are warriors as well. All the songs you would want to hear where played, great live versions of this is not a love song and the flowers of romance. You always get good quality from public image Ltd and that goes for the merchandise sold as well, something always different on offer, this time, narrow long public image ltd towels along with some great t shirts. Public image Ltd keep going strong and keep going along and that is a great, great thing to have around. 10/10 ;)

Personally I was disappointed with the sound, the set-list and the performance. A couple of tracks got the some audience reaction e.g. "Murderer" ; I think it was so the young & old members of a small turn-out could shout the word "Murderer" like a chant. The biggest difference was the set-list, I admit I'm not a big follower of P.I.L. new output but there are a few good tracks in there. I saw them at the Buckley Tivoli last November (Yes, it did coincide with the big Rugby match) but I'm not interested in Rugby but it could have helped the great atmosphere last year. This May night just didn't feel right and I hate it when they try and do tracks off 'Metal Box' live - they're just dreadful. The venue seems to be a venue for comedians or those copycat bands. The one thing that put me in a bad mood before the gig even started was the merchandise table selling P.I.L's new Hits album signed by the great man (I'm pretty sure he signed them as Johnny Rotten) for the outrageous price of £30, I think I died a little inside.
The actual gig seemed a bit out of sync, highlights (highlights????) were 'Religion' 'Double Trouble','the previously mentioned 'Murderer' and well, well nothing, no support act, etc and even the spiel Lydon sayed seemed scripted

The concert began in darkness. Then the lights were on as Public Image Ltd. took the stage, their logo on a banner hanging from the back wall as the band struck up the first chords of their opener "This Is Not a Love Song." The crowd was already wild, dancing, cheering, and jumping up and down.

John Lydon, clad in pinstripes, took off his suit jacket in the middle of a break from singing amidst cheers from the audience before continuing his unique sing-songy growling and trilling into the microphone. Waving his hands back and forth like a mad scientist, John Lydon, with his shock of bleached hair, was a sight to behold while performing. It was obvious that he was feeling the music entirely and letting it work its way through his limbs as he continued performing the remainder of the concert.

When John asked if the audience was ready in the middle of "This Is Not a Love Song," the audience triumphantly cheered "Yes!" and they weren't lying. It didn't matter what song they played; the audience was hanging on every word, every note of each song they performed. Two of the most extraordinary cheers from the audience came after "Death Disco," and their closer "Open Up."

I’ve loved PIL for about 35 years, and this is their 40 year tour. Johnny Rotten still retains some of the old attitude, but isn’t quite the stage presence he used to be. His band is great, he has chosen well, but his vocal attitudes aren’t near as sharp. They played about a half dozen songs from 1990 on back, my favorites, and many more of their newer ones, which I wasn’t AS familiar with. I would give them about 3 of 5 stars on the PIL performance scale compared to previous shows I had seen in 89 and the early 90s. They kicked butt then! But I have to hand it to him, still rockin at 40 years.

Fantastic gig! As an Englishman living in Japan, this was the first time I've seen Public Image Ltd in Tokyo. Compared to seeing them in London, the audience might have seemed less rowdy. I remember when the lights shone on the audience between songs, John said, "Oh, you are there!". Then, before the encore, the audience started singing. I thought it was lovely when John came back on stage and said, "aaaah, you're singing" and clearly seemed endeared by the acknowledgement of the audience that we absolutely loved the gig.

Really good show from start to finish. John Lydon has an energy and a stage presence unlike many people touring at the moment. Their renditions of old hits are also incredibly catchy and well executed. Credit goes to Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth and Bruce Smith for being such excellent musicians.

Shout out goes to Dreadzone as well, the opening act. I had never heard of them before, but they were great too!

El show en Vorterix fue excelente, la banda estuvo muy profesional y Lydon - para lo que es él - fue muy atento con el público.
Con 13 temas sin fisuras, más 2 en el bis, repasó los hits de su carrera más los nuevos temas. Un muy buen espectáculo que reafirmó la buena impresión que me causó a fin del siglo pasado en el estadio Obras. Pablo Vázquez

The sound could have been better, but it improved as the night went on. What a fantastic gig.
John Lydon is a lyrical genius.
The sound from PIL is unique and incredibly creative. They had a simple but very affective backdrop.
The gig was sold out and it is easy to tell why.
The pubs around the venue was filled with fans from early on the evening.

Obviously, they are ready to end the tour. They need some new material since most of the set (besides Religion, Public Image and Corporate ) sounded the same. Some of the songs were just piss poor like Betty Page and The One. I had to go out side they were so embarrassing. The sound system in Sacramento needs major work.

Great gig. As expected, Johnny was really good and funny. Played lots from his new album and also his Leftfield track ( burn Hollywood). I was a little disappointed they didn't play the good old signature Public Image song, but I still enjoyed the gig very much.