Sex Pistols @ the Roxy Oct. 25th

Last night I had the privilege of seeing the Sex Pistols play their first ever L.A. club show. I had won the tickets from our local radio station, Indie 103.1, where Pistols guitarist, Steve Jones broadcasts his radio show. I had also never seen a show on the Sunset Strip, so I was really pleased to find the Roxy a great room for a show. I couldn't believe how small the the space was, and I was able to get a spot 3-4 feet away from the stage. After standing 40 minutes and watching the mostly gray haired audience wait in anticipation, I dodged a quick skirmish between two meat heads, that left one guy ejected. I couldn't help but think how classic, a fight at a Pistols show, only these weren't street punks or hooligans, these guys were Hollywood actor wannabes. I could only laugh. Finally, up in the DJ booth, Lemmy from Motorhead came out to watch the show, and I knew the band was about to play. The lights went out, and an ode to England played, ending with a triumphant crescendo. The curtain pulled back to reveal the 50 year old rockers blasting out "Holiday in the Sun". Johny Lydon is a natural performer, with deadly piercing eyes and a scowl made for intimidation. Not to mention, he's missing a few teeth (must be a British thing). Lydon looked odd drinking champagne from the bottle in his Long white tunic, buttons stripped off and replaced with safety pins. Overall, the music was good, and the Pistols played a tight one hour set of all their songs, and a few of their known covers, "Stepping Stone"... where Lydon tried to get political stating her couldn't stand anymore "Republican Bullshit". He was also quick to point out that the Pistols "were the ones to start this shit, not the Ramones and the like..." At one point a fan jumped up on stage, and the Pistols security guy, who completely reminded me of the Ben Kingsly character in "Sexy Beast" rushed over to rip the chubby hispanic girl off of Steve Jones. And then finally, after a set of playing for more or less bulky actor types desperate to relive some kind of punk rock pit nostalgia, Lydon laid into the guy who threw a beer at him, calling him out and saying "If you ever do that again, I will kill you...you fucking coward". And then, predictably, the band launched into a rousing version of "Anarchy in the U.K." Lydon closed with the immortal words, "Fuck All!" and the show was over.