Blogpost: Sex Pistols feat. Frank Carter

Never Mind The Bollocks- Sex Pistols feat. Frank Carter Brings 50 Years of Punk To History, Toronto

Venue: History, Toronto, ON
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026
Support: Panic Shack

Controlled Anarchy

Whenever a band returns without its original singer, people have an opinion. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone has a butthole. Ever since Frank Carter joined Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock for the Sex Pistols' 50 Years of Punktour, fans have come to fisticuffs over whether it should have been given a rebirth. Fair enough, but expecting four people to stay together for fifty years without falling out or wanting to claw each other's eyes out isn't exactly realistic. Countless bands have fewer members and still tour. Take the show for what it is: three members of one of the U.K. punk's most important punk bands playing the music they helped create alongside a frontman who clearly loves and respects it.

Carter never tries to be John Lydon, and that's exactly why it works. The former Gallows and Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes singer attacks every song with his own personality while repeatedly making it clear what an honour it is to share the stage with Jones, Cook, and Matlock. Between songs, he spoke about finally getting to play a proper club show after a run of shortened festival appearances, then backed it up by diving headfirst into the crowd during "God Save the Queen," setting off one of the night's biggest circle pits. Later he called for a women-only pit, telling the guys to "stay the fuck out" and let the women mosh!

The band were locked and loaded from the opening notes of "Holidays in the Sun." Steve Jones' thick, unmistakable guitar tone remains the backbone of these songs, while Paul Cook's drumming was as solid and driving as ever. Glen Matlock's melodic bass playing, often overshadowed by the band's mythology, tied everything together. Who cares if he liked The Beatles!

Cardiff, Wales' Panic Shack opened the night, showing exactly why they've been building so much buzz as media darlings. Toronto fans may remember their June 16, 2026 headlining show at the Hard Luck Bar, which was moved from The Baby G after quickly outgrowing the original venue. Comparisons to an early Amyl and the Sniffers—or even Eve Libertine of Crass might seem a little too easy, but the raw energy and punk snarl are hard to ignore. Panic Shack never comes across as a band trying to be anyone else. Clearly they are having “fun, fun fun in the fluffy chair, flame up the herb, wolf down the beer”. Nearing the end of one song, all five members lined up to form a human centipede(try it, you’ll like it) across the front of the stage. For a moment it looked like the song was over before they suddenly ripped back into it, catching the audience completely off guard. It perfectly captured the band's playful chemistry and refusal to take themselves too seriously, something they've said has always been central to Panic Shack. By the time they closed with "Pockets," they had won over plenty of people who had arrived primarily to see the Sex Pistols.

Old Punks, New Blood, and a Half-Eaten Clif Bar

The audience reflected just how far these songs have travelled over the past five decades. Yes, there was full intellectual debate on the evolution of Punk Rock and how far it has come or regressed. You heard the adage " Punk is Dad." Original punks in well-worn leather jackets and multi coloured hair stood or barely stood beside younger sweaty fans who had only ever experienced the Sex Pistols through records, documentaries, or stories from older relatives (looking at your Grandpa!). During the quieter moments, diehards shouted requests for deeper cuts from The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, including one call for "Belsen Was a Gas" and Silly Thing.

Behind the band, large video screens acted as a backdrop with vintage and current visuals, while stacks of Marshall cabinets dressed in Sex Pistols artwork framed the stage. It looked big, like a big set of Bollocks without feeling overproduced, leaving the focus where it belonged—on the music.

Jones, Cook, and Matlock were generous throughout the night, tossing picks, drumsticks, and setlists into the crowd, and there was no exchange of gob by the audience witnessed at the two previous Pistols reunions. Somehow I ended up catching Steve Jones' half-eaten Clif Bar after he catapulted it into the audience. It's now one of the stranger concert souvenirs I've brought home, and if science ever needs it, apparently, it contains enough Jones DNA to clone another guitarist. Oh no, one Jonesey is enough or is it ?!

After a furious 14-song set, there wasn't much hanging around. The band had an overnight trip to Montreal ahead of them, and the bus wasn't going to wait on their destination to “Nowhere”. Jones still found time to sign a few items near the loading dock in the Boredom Bus before quietly calling it a night and taking some poor punter's pen with him. LOL. The cat burglar strikes again.

Back in 1976, the Sex Pistols helped strip rock music back to its raw essentials, mixing pub rock, glam, and attitude into something that unsettled just about everyone but for the indoctrinated. Fifty years later, nobody is calling the police or trying to shut the band down or kick them off the Thames. The outrage has long since faded, but the songs haven't. Hearing them performed by the musicians who helped create them was more than enough reason for a sold-out History crowd to celebrate another night of punk history. It’s only rock and roll, and I like it. We mean it maaaaannn.