It’s been glorious weather so far for all the gigs I’ve attended so far in the 2026 run and Saturday was no exception, with to England v Norway game happening, things were brought forward for the evening so it was a case of getting over sharpish for the gates opening as Panic Shack were due on stage at 6.20pm
Having caught them at Bearded Theory in 2024 I was instantly a fan of the chaos they bring on stage, and due to the massive amount of set clashes back there in 2026 I sadly missed their set when they returned, so I was delighted to hear they were added to the bill supporting Frank Carter and The Sex Pistols.
The Cardiff-based “girl” group (besides Nick on drums) is one of several similar types of punk rock female-fronted band that have come a long way in a relatively short space of time.
They are definitely up there with my favorites of the genre and manage the balance of being political without being preachy extremely well, and are very much great fun to watch rather than somewhat of a grind that I’ve found with some others. Tonight they were very much on form, I just wish they had been given a longer set as the already very generous 30-minute early support slot they were given flew by in a flash.
A band, like The Sex Pistols were around just as I was beginning to form my musical tastes as very much a child who was still a few years off being a teen, Teenage Kick’s, Jimmy Jimmy, You’ve Got My Number, My Perfect Cousin, Wednesday Week, It’s Going to Happen and When Saturday Comes were all there amongst stuff by the likes of XTC, Blondie, The Police etc so this was another fantasic shoe in and again another band I had caught at Bearded Theoy a few years previously as their current line up. Now, obviously, the lead singer has changed since those early years as Fergal Sharkey didn’t want to rejoin when the band got back together some 27 years ago, but Paul McLoone seems to manage to fit the songs despite not having a vocal style anything like Fergal’s..
It was a joy to relive the songs of my formative, very early youthful rebelling. – many of which I associate with being up to no good and they certainly brought back a wry smile at times; I was definitely a thorn in the headmaster’s side during those days at both first and later secondary school and I enjoyed their performance but I just felt if they could have trimmed the set down a bit it woud have been absolutely perfect and allowed Panic Shack a little longer on their set.
Frank Carter and the Sex Pistols
Unlike The Undertones, Sex Pistols were just a bit too early to have been really part of my discovery in real time, having originally disbanded not long after I’d turned 9 and I was just 7 years old when Nevermind the Bollocks was released.
However It didn’t take long to catch on, thanks to The Great Rock n Roll Swindle; Friggin’ in the Riggin’ to a 10-year-old was like pollen to a bee; I just couldn’t get enough – much to the disappointment of my parents. But that said, I was very much a disappointment before, then and even now, really, so nothing much has changed…
Unlike other bands at the time of my early age, which I enjoyed, the more I got to know about the Sex Pistols, the more they blew my mind, especially John Lydon, whom I saw, indeed still see a lot of in me, back then like all kids I had no concept of time and this over almost as quickly as it began band for a small moment in my life became a part of me.
So it was with a bit of mixed feelings upon hearing the Pistols were getting back together for the 50th anniversary of Nevermind, but John wasn’t part of it. On one side, the band was back; on the other, it wasn’t really the Sex Pistols to me, but I was still intrigued enough to try (in vain) to get tickets to the “intimate” early shows at Bush Hall. The reports back were sounding promising, but none of the further small tour dates worked out for me. Thankfully, I struck gold or at least thought I did, in 2026 – They were playing at the Piece Hall!
Now obviously, we were not in for a 2 hour set due to lack of original material but from past experience seeing the originals, it should have been an explosive hour or so and Frank was trying to fire off the crowd almost from the start by starting a circle, I repeat, a circle – at a punk gig – a punk gig not a metal gig, bloody kids eh?
Now it might have been the heat; it might have been the age of the audience; maybe both, but what I experienced wasn’t like any previous Pistols gig I’ve personally witnessed or caught on film. Nearly 20 years ago, I genuinely feared for my life at the MEN; the crowd was so packed and animated you were literally trapped where you were and everyone just had to deal with whatever direction the crowd moved, and believe me, it was moving for the hour or so they were on stage in all directions like the sea in a bad swirl but tonight it looked and felt like a tea party, more people were chatting and not paying attention to whats going on on stage than I have seen for a long time at the Piece Hall, you know when football fans complain about the tourists who turn up at their grounds with their half and half scarfs, more there for the experience of the event than the game?
Well, that’s exactly what it felt like on this night; even the heavy hitters like Pretty Vacant and God Save The Queen wouldn’t pull themselves away from their conversations. Why? Why the fuck would you pay nearly seventy quid each to stand and chat all the way through the headliner, especially a band that hasn’t toured for so long, you absolute morons?
The band themselves were brilliant; the unmistakable sound of Steve Jones ’ guitar cut through the chatter like a knife through butter. I’ve been lucky to see Glen perform with Lust For Life, an Iggy Pop tribute band with the now sadly departed drummer Clem Burke and Katie Puckrik on vocals a couple of years ago, and he certainly can still do the business.
Cookie was as on form as ever, but I just couldn’t warm myself to Frank. There was something about him that felt too safe, far too safe to be fronting Pistols. With Lydon, there’s always the element of unpredictability about him that gives the performance its edge, and that was completely lacking on the night to me. Still, when asking a mate who’d not seen them before, he said he really enjoyed them.
In contrast, others who had seen them before were of the view much like myself, that they were glad to see the Sex Pistols back even if it isn’t quite how you remember it, or at least how you think you remember it, but having some form of Sex Pistols back is better than nothing at all, other than the occasional flare-up reported in the media between Lydon and which ever other member has upset him.
I had really been looking forward to this one, and thanks to a certain wonderful little person, I got to be there, but sadly it won’t go down as one of my greatest nights at the Piece Hall. Don’t get me wrong, it was far from a car crash; it was a good night, but it just didn’t turn out to be the night I hoped for. Maybe I had built myself up a little too high from my past experiences with the band and this feeling was on me but it’s there and I can’t really change that.
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