I’m writing this review
over 20 years after having gone to the concert, so my apologies if my
memory is less than accurate. I had just moved to Vancouver, BC, when
I discovered PiL were to play in Seattle. Considering they had been
the rulers of my turntable for the past 2 years since the release of
'Second Edition', I could hardly believe my good fortune at having this
opportunity. I had no idea what to expect from the show. The last I’d
heard about any sort of PiL performance was from the riot at the Ritz
in New York a year and a half before then. I didn’t know if there
would be a full band or some multi-media show or what. I hadn’t
seen any reviews or articles on any of the prior performances on that
tour.
I went down to Seattle by
bus with a couple of friends and we found our way to the Showbox Theatre.
We stood outside in line for what seemed like an eternity. Once inside,
the waiting only continued for another eternity until the opening band
took the stage. I think it was a band called Napalm Beach or something
like that. They were depressing and humourless and not very interesting.
After they finished, yet another long wait for the reason we’d
come down to Seattle. At long last, the show began with a tape of what
was then supposed to be the new PiL single, 'Blue Water'. My heart jumped
to my throat as the theatre filled with the monolithic bass of the song.
It was such a thrill to hear a new recording, and such a damn fine one
to boot! After that, PiL finally hit the stage for what would be an
hour of pure power.
I was happy to see that they
had put together a full band for the tour with Lydon, Levene, Atkins
and Pete Jones on bass. Although I would have preferred to have seen
Wobble up there, Jones was spot on and I felt very privileged to see
three quarters of the best band in the world (little realising this
would be the last tour where anyone would get to see anything like this
again).
Throughout the show, the
band would run through a healthy mix of tracks from their first three
albums, plus some of the new tracks that would eventually end up on
'Commercial Zone' & 'This Is What You Want…' Their performance
was totally flawless and mesmerising from start to finish.. One of the
highlights of the show was when they performed 'Under the House' from
'Flowers of Romance'. Additional drums were brought up on stage for
Keith and Pete to play so the whole song was just pure tribal rhythm
with John wailing away over top. It was remarkably intense and aggressive
as was the whole show.
The crowd at the front of
the stage was the scariest bunch of madmen I’d ever seen. I had
no intention of getting anywhere near them as they slammed into each
other and spat at the stage (obviously pissing off Lydon and crew).
At one point, during 'Religion', someone from the audience crawled up
on stage and grabbed John with his arms around John’s ankles. The
“thumps” from the microphone were easily audible as Lydon
smacked him on the head before security tossed him off the stage.
After about an hour, the
band exited the stage and, after some loud cheering from the crowd,
returned for an encore. They finished with a rousing version of 'Public
Image'. About half way through the song, Lydon began bringing people
from the audience up on stage until it was overflowing. You couldn’t
see the band anymore and then, abruptly, the music stopped and the band
seemed to vanish into thin air leaving the stage cluttered with a lot
of confused looking people.
Nearly two years later, I’d
have another chance to see PiL in Vancouver, but it was not the same
band anymore. Atkins was still there (not for long), but the rest of
the band were session musicians who, although they played proficiently,
couldn’t come close to mustering the kind of tension and rage that
was displayed in Seattle. It was more of a “Vegas” version
of PiL and just didn’t cut it. It’s always been a disappointment
to me that PiL fell apart after the ’82 tour since they seemed
to be at the peak of their powers in their performance and the glimpses
of the ill fated 'Commercial Zone' promised yet new ground to be broken.
I’m only happy that I had at least one opportunity to see the real
deal in all it’s venomous glory.
Unfortunately, I don't have
any pictures as my camera was confiscated at the door, but I hope the
review will help to add a little insight into what would become the
last tour of PiL in it's (somewhat) original, nasty form...
Stephen Rosin |