PiL performed their distorted liturgy under the Azkena sun

Public Image Limited took the Respect stage unannounced, without begging for attention, indifferent to the time or the sun slicing through the scene. The heat was brutal. The air shimmered between bodies overheated by the asphalt of the grounds —but there they were.

John Lydon, clad in a sky-blue plaid jacket pinned with safety pins and green trousers, arrived carrying his lyric folder —which he touched only out of protocol—, his bottle of cava placed at the foot of the drum kit, and that gait, part ceremonial, part defiant, that still commands respect without even trying.

His entrance was silently abrasive. One glance was enough to set the tone: fixed, provocative, with that crooked expression that seems to know more than everyone else. From the very first word, he bellowed without filter or restraint, spitting on the ground —symbols delivered with a near-sacred ease.
The tension, already thick from the weather, turned ritualistic. Every so often, he took a sip of cava —not to cool down, but to deepen the contrast: brutality with manners, rage dressed to kill.

Meanwhile, the scene in front of the stage was just as intense. The crowd had been dancing for a long time already, under a relentless sun, and the organizers had resorted to spraying attendees with hoses as a climate-control measure. A scene bordering on the surreal: post-punk distortion, jets of water in the air, bodies vibrating in a chanted catharsis.

Shouting, fists, and distortion

PiL, absolute pioneers of post-punk, channel the original rage of punk like few others —but they reshape it with sophistication. The classic guitars, bass, and drums are still present, yet they coexist with synthesizers, loops, and electronic textures that heighten the drama. What Lydon delivers is not nostalgia —it’s untamed evolution.

With Know Now, he thanked the “blessed sun” with sarcasm as elegant as it was cutting. Nothing seemed to faze him —not the extreme heat, not the steam rising from the ground, not the generalized tension hanging in the air. The band sounded tight, solid, dark. During Love Song, the crowd erupted. It was one of the high points of the set, with the energy amplified by Lydon’s gestures and the physical intensity behind every line.

In Death Disco, he let out a spontaneous “I love the Basque Country” that found immediate resonance.

For Shoom, the “F*** You” and “F*** Off” lines came in bursts, launched from his throat with a mix of sarcasm and conviction, and the audience fired them right back as if they were their own.

And in Rise, one of the most intense moments of PiL’s repertoire, the repetition of “What is anger?” functioned as a mantra, a sting, a mental loop that seeped through the cracks of consciousness.

Visually, the concert was minimalist. Sonically, it was devastating. The guitarist, sharp and precise, used a violin bow on his Telecaster, generating layers of controlled noise that added sharpness and texture. There were no screens, no projections —just the red curtain with the new logo: the focus was total, raw, human.

Lydon introduced each band member one by one as the final song played. He closed the lyric folder, tucked it under his arm, and walked toward the left side of the stage. There, they all lined up at the front and bowed together in farewell. Despite the suffocating heat, the crowd held its intensity until the very end.

Setlist – Public Image Ltd. (Respect Stage – Azkena Rock Festival 2025)

1. Home
2. Know Now
3. Time Zone
4. Love Song
5. Death Disco
6. Warrior
7. Shoom
8. Public Image
9. Open Up
10. Rise
11. Bags / Chant

PH Mariana Gomez Torres IG @mgzmagculturavisual , IG @MgzLab

To Listen

Azkena Rock Festival, Azkena 2025, Public Image Ltd, PIL, John Lydon, Johnny Rotten, Vitoria-Gasteiz, rock en vivo, leyendas del rock, post-punk, punk, música en directo, festivales España

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