Public Image Ltd.'s John Lydon Calls Toronto Audience "Lazy, Do-Nothing Cunts"

"This is Public Image Limited," singer John Lydon said as he took the Phoenix stage on Friday night. "You will enjoy."

While the audience didn't display its enjoyment as enthusiastically as the black-clad frontman would have liked, it's difficult to fathom many people leaving the two-hour concert disappointed.

Public Image Ltd. went on an extended hiatus following the release of 1992's That What Is Not, but reformed last year. Lydon has been the only constant in his post-Sex Pistols group, which is now rounded out by two former PiL members — guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Lu Edmonds (The Damned, The Mekons) and drummer Bruce Smith (The Pop Group, The Slits) — and a new guy, bassist/keyboardist Scott Firth (Elvis Costello, Steve Winwood).

About three dozen musicians have passed through PiL over the years, and while it would have been nice to have seen what's considered the classic lineup of guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble and drummer Martin Atkins on stage, Edmonds, Smith and Firth's contributions were outstanding and sometimes outshone those of their cantankerous leader.

"This Is Not A Love Song" opened the proceedings, and Lydon's sneering vocal intonations were just as I remembered them when This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get came out 26 years ago.

While Lydon's lyrics are often difficult to decipher, I don't think I'm wrong in saying he sounds more comfortable singing PiL songs than he did Sex Pistols numbers on 1996's Filthy Lucre and 2003's Piss Off tours.

"This Is Not A Love Song" segued into "Poptones" and was followed by "Tie Me To The Length Of That," which Lydon introduced by saying, "If you spent less time staring and more time sharing, then you'd know what Public Image Limited is all about." The song had a lean guitar line, and Lydon made a motion to indicate hanging himself during the chorus.

There was lots of guitar squall and an echo effect on Lydon's voice during "Albatross," and funk and reggae undertones showed up in the basslines throughout the show, including "Death Disco." When Edmonds wasn't playing guitar, he impressed by taking a bow to a banjo and playing something that looked like an electric bouzouki with an extra long neck.

"Are you having fun yet?" Lydon asked the crowd between "Warrior" and "Disappointed," which was one of the rare songs that made use of backing vocals — and the harmonies were quite pleasant.

People apparently weren't having enough fun for Lydon, who called people who'd paid $50 to see him "lazy, do-nothing cunts." Other insults included:

"You're quite laid back. But everyone knows that Canada is a retirement home."

"Fucking hell, you really are dead, aren't you?"

"Do you boo in French or English here? Le boo… at least that would be interesting."

"In The Sun" was the only happy-sounding song of the night, but Lydon wasn't pleased with what was coming out of his vocal monitor, and he marred the first part of the song by whining about it. The up-tempo "Bags" was reminiscent of Gang Of Four in places and, like many of the group's songs, featured an extended groove.

"I hate and despise all religion," Lydon stated as he introduced the set-closing "Religion."

"Is the Pope a Nazi? The answer is yes, the Pope was a Nazi. Lock up your children; the bishops are coming."

After a brief respite offstage, the band returned for a brilliant rendition of "Public Image" from the band's 1978 debut album. Lydon read the song's lyrics from sheets on a stagefront stand at earlier shows on this tour from which I'd seen video clips. While the stand was again present, Lydon never made obvious use of it through the entire concert.

"Public Image" was followed by "Rise," which got the biggest rise from the crowd all night. That wasn't surprising, since the 1986 song was PiL's biggest North American hit. Hearing the audience sing "Anger is an energy" along with him must have pleased Lydon, as he backtracked somewhat from his earlier statements.

"You're alright," he said. "I'm just taking the piss 'cause I'm a cunt — but an awfully good cunt to have on your side."

Lydon seems to enjoy using the "C word," and what can easily be interpreted as being the graphic representation of the part of the female anatomy that slang word applies to adorns the cover of That What Is Not.

Former Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof was at the Phoenix, and it would have been cool if he'd come on stage to sing something, but perhaps he was too preoccupied by acting as guest editor (with Bono) of The Globe And Mail. The two artists and anti-poverty activists are in Toronto to work on the May 10 issue of the newspaper, which is focused on the future of Africa.

Aside from that minor quibble — and disappointment that "Bad Life," "Seattle" and "Banging The Door" weren't in the set list — I couldn't have expected much more from a PiL performance in 2010. The band are using the money they make from the tour (though this show was downsized from the larger Kool Haus and still didn't sell out) to record a new album.

It will be interesting to see what direction PiL follows. But wherever things go, "May the road rise with you."