October 26, 2007 23:10

Sex Pistols reunite for raucous LA show

Legendary punks take on star-studded crowd

Sex Pistols played their first show in four years at the legendary Roxy on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip last night (October 25).

Original members John Lydon [aka Johnny Rotten], Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook gave a raucous hour-long performance for a packed house that included Bush's Gavin Rossdale, Dirty Pretty Things' Carl Barrett, Velvet Revolver, and actor and long-time Sex Pistols fan Julian Sands.

"Hello LA!" boomed Lydon as he took the stage. "You've got the fucking floods, fires and earthquakes and now the Sex Pistols. You ain't doing too bad at all!"

The band played classic tracks, including 'EMI', 'Submission' and 'God Save The Queen', which whipped the front rows into a mosh-pit frenzy.

At one point a woman jumped onstage to hug and kiss Jones, after which Lydon said: "Could the ugly birds stop getting up on stage, it's fucking embarrassing."

A scowling Lydon couldn't help smiling throughout the night, soaking in the adoration of the capacity crowd. Things turned confrontational when an audience member drenched him in beer, to which he responded: "I don't tolerate fucking cowards."

The band concluded the night with a climactic encore of 'Anarchy In The UK', which ended with Lydon repeating the phrase "fuck them all."

The private show was the Sex Pistols' only scheduled US date. It was sponsored by LA radio station Indie 103.1, which gave away tickets to a handful of fans to fill the 200-capacity venue.

Tickets were reportedly being sold on the internet for as much as $500.

The Sex Pistols are set to play several UK dates in November, as previously reported.

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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