(August 16th)
The September 4th issue of Rolling Stone has the following review:

Finally, John Lydon's back on dangerous ground. The erstwhile Sex Pistols/ Public Image Limited provocateur's first-ever solo album features his most dissonant noises since PiL's 1981 Flowers of Romance. Songs like "Grave Ride" skitter over tribal electronics spiked with Eastern drones; the John Wayne Gacy-influenced "Psychopath," however, proves that Lydon's trademark misanthropy is still intact. Psycho's Path also finds Lydon, like everybody else, going techno for the '90s. For him it makes sense, though, as he's always been a dance-music buff (an early PiL song wasn't called "Death Disco" for nothing). It's a gas to hear him out-Prodigy the Prodigy, snarling over grooves from electronica heavyweights such as Leftfield, the Chemical Brothers and Moby.

The album received a 3-star rating out of a possible 4, and was reviewed by Matt Diehl.

- Thanks to Jenni


(August 16th)
I received this e-mail yesterday:

"Friday night I caught the end of a message saying to call in and talk to Johnny Rotten, so I think he may be an upcoming guest on this radio talk show (Rockline) as well." - Jenni

I think this is in Wisconsin somewhere. I hope to have more info on this soon.

(August 16th)
The new "Variety" magazine reportedly has a review of The Palace show in it. I'll post it as soon as I find and purchase it.

(August 16th)
Here are some more tid-bits from The Palace show...

During the show John said that if he was Janet Jackson or The Rolling Stones, then Virgin would promote him. He said he has the legs of Janet and would throw stones at Jagger! John's a little thinner these days since the Sex Pistols reunion tour (Fit, forty-one and back?). His hair is now bright red again like the old "Album" days. He was drinking mineral water and possibly sipping wine (lovely combination). In the background behind the band was a reportedly mediocre multi-media film display. He was allowing photographs to be taken during the autograph signing after the show. And his wife Nora was there with him too.

Here's the complete set list from the show:

1. Sun
2. Armies
3. Another Way
4. Take Me
5. Psycho's Path
6. Tie Me To The Length Of That
7. Rise
8. Dog
9. Public Image
10. Careering
11. Under The House
12. Stump
13. Grave Ride
14. A No and a Yes
15. Dis Ho

- MANY thanks to Dino Everett and Martha Packard for all the info!


(August 15th)
This just in: An anonymous source has informed me that the show at The Palace was John's first and only show of the tour. He has canceled the rest of the tour due to friction between Virgin and himself. I can only hope that this will be proven wrong as time goes on, however I called both the San Francisco and Portland venues only to hear that both shows were indeed canceled. I would strongly suggest that if you have purchased or are going to purchase tickets for any of the future shows, that you call as late as several hours before the show starts to confirm it hasn't been canceled yet. Sorry folks! This is by far the worst news I've had to report so far. More info to come...

(August 15th)
More info on The Palace show... Apparently, John did an autograph signing after the show. He was signing everything from albums to pictures to t-shirts. He was reportedly wearing a shirt that read "Still Single, 69, Love" on it. There were 2 types of T-shirts being sold. One had the CD cover on the front with a list of all 32 shows of the tour on the back. The second shirt was one-sided with an image of John (similar to the CD artwork) in a black and blue outline resembling a "black-light poster". Again, both shirts had the collars and sleeves already ripped off. No other items were for sale. John was also complaining about Virgin several times during the show, with comments similar to, "If you want to hear more, tell Virgin they should support the CD more!"
- Thanks to Dino Everett and Martha.

(August 14th)
Early reports are coming in... The Palace show did happen after all. John played to a receptive crowd of about 300, performing most of his "Psycho's Path" material plus several PiL songs (Public Image, Careering, Under The House, Rise, Tie Me To The Length Of That and possibly one or two more). T-shirts are sold sleeveless and will cost you $20.00.
- Thanks to Dino Everett.

Anyone else have additional info/reviews? Let me know!

(August 13th)
Damn! So far, John has canceled every show on his scheduled tour. Including Monday's San Diego show, which was the only one I was able to take time off from work to go see. I don't understand it at all, since they told me Thursday that John's road manager had said that the show would still go on.

I won't know whether tonight's Hollywood show is still going to happen or not, until I call them later today. I am very bummed about all this - to say the least. Unless he hires a drummer very soon (or whatever the problem is), there's a good chance that many more shows may be canceled. The only thing I can hope for, is that after he finishes with the rest of his scheduled tour, he'll come back around and catch the venues he missed.

As always, if anybody gets to see any of his shows, or has any info to contribute, I'd love to hear about it. E-mail me!

(August 8th)
I can only imagine how many unhappy Lydon fans there are in Texas right now. Apparently John canceled (at least) the first three concert dates of his tour. I am assuming this was because he fired his drummer, as reported by Spencer in Wednesday's news posting. The following dates were affected:

08/03/97 New Orleans, LA - "House Of Blues"
08/04/97 Houston, TX - "Numbers"
08/06/97 Austin, TX - "Liberty Lunch"

As for the August 8th (Dallas, TX - "Trees") or August 10th (Tempe, AZ - "Electric Ballroom") shows, I don't have any info on those right now. The only thing I can tell you is that I called "4th and B" (August 11th - San Diego, CA) yesterday. They said that John's road manager had just called about five minutes prior to me calling and stated that that show is still on and has not been canceled.

(August 8th)
Pollstar has a very well done tour schedule, if anyone's interested. I don't think you can buy tickets there, but it looks nice anyway.

(August 7th)
I just found this in the Dallas Observer:

"Rotten No More" - Dallas Observer (Aug 7-13, 1997)

Exactly a year ago, John Lydon donned his punk costume and Rotten persona and toured with the rest of the beer-bellied Sex Pistols for big bucks -- cash from chaos, indeed. He admitted it, and people still bought; audiences flocked to witness what punk rock was all about. Lydon gave them the cartoon version, with a sneer that translated something like this: "If you think the Pistols can come back 20 years later and mean anything, then there's one of you born every minute."

Yet the man could be king. In true Jacko fashion, he could appoint himself "king of punk" and make a fortune in the nostalgia circus. Hell, he could even have a multimillion-selling catch o' the day like Offspring opening for him. He chose not to. Maybe it's that old-fashioned affliction called integrity.

The truth is that Lydon is the kind of musician who likes to experiment, break down boundaries. The man grew up with reggae and Can; how long could he stay happy with one-chord songs while punk rock was turning into an industry all around him? As early as 1978, he was already challenging people's misconceptions with PiL. Since then, his stance -- the absolute opinions, the seemingly cynical outlook, his hyperbolic sarcasm -- has often been more interesting than some of his recent recorded output.

Psycho's Path is his first solo album, and it is not much different from his earlier work with PiL. Brewed in his home studio in Los Angeles, it is all Lydon: Parts of it share the spooky ambience of Metal Box, the awkward rhythmic thrust of Flowers of Romance, and the haphazard melodies of Album. All the songs are bathed with a thin glow of electronica, with Lydon more concerned with getting under your skin than on your nerves. He even expresses the desire to be loved in "Take Me." On his own terms, of course. Elsewhere, the idiosyncratic pulse of "Dog," the polyrhythmic "Another Way," and the stark humanity of "Grave Ride" -- inspired by the madness in Bosnia -- make this a compelling album by a man who supposedly doesn't give a damn.

Rarely -- if ever -- has a man been so disgusted with his own myth. A myth that he has bloody-mindedly been trying to destroy for 20 years now, without much effect. Maybe the sheer musicality of Psycho's Path will take a chunk out of it; a giant step away from his legend. Bet your now-too-small Pistols T-shirt, however, that his new, low-key tour will end up a disaster: Half of the audience will be hoping for crumbs of a Pistols song, and Lydon will do his best to irritate and agitate them.

-- Philip Chrissopoulos

(August 7th)
The NME interview is finally up! Go to interviews to read it.
Also, a very big thanks to Cara DeCarlo for all of her hard work typing both the NME and SELECT interviews.

(August 7th)
I found this short article about John's Wednesday night show in the Austin (Texas) Chronicle:

"Liberty Lunch" - Wednesday August 6th

The Maturity of Punk? Never! Not if you're Johnny Rotten. Presumably still rolling in all that shameless reunion lucre, plus the fat paychecks of his recent radio snide-shows, the Antichrist is alive and well with a hefty record contract with Virgin (take that, you corporate whores!). Now, he's trying to get you to buy his major-label debut, Psycho's Path, which might win title of the year. So, if you want to curse him for selling out, or just see someone who nearly imploded a frigging empire up close, Wednesday's your night. If you're lucky, maybe he'll even give you the finger.

(August 7th)
I added about five new pics that I've found on the net.

(August 6th)
This very interesting e-mail was sent to me yesterday:

Hello, my name is Spencer Anderson and I live in Atlanta. I flew to New Orleans to see the show on this past Sunday. The only problem was when I got there and went to the "House of Blues" to pick up my tickets, they said that the show had been canceled. So there is no review of the New Orleans show.

But let me make your day... John was staying at the same hotel as me (Omni Royal) and we hung out and talked for a while. One of the things we talked about was your site. He said he wasn't dissing your site, he just thought that your reviews of his songs was inaccurate. But other than that, he said it was all right.

He is traveling with his brother Martin, who I believe is playing in the band with him. Also his friend Rambo is with him again. He said that they had to fire the drummer and that was the reason they canceled. So the first show was in Houston. John's actually a very nice guy and very approachable. I have hung out with him several times over the years and he has always treated me and my wife with nothing but respect.

Here is some news for you to print: John told me he was going to have his own show on Mtv or either VH1 later this year. Well let me get out of here, hope you enjoy the show out in L.A.

Cheers,
Spencer

You know, I think this whole thing about John not liking my CD review is actually quite hilarious! It seems like everywhere he goes, people keep bugging him about it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it gets brought up the next time he's interviewed! Now that would be an achievement! As for this e-mail, I'd love to believe this person is telling the truth, especially the part about his show coming together soon (Lydon does mention it briefly in the NME interview I'm going to post), but with these types of unconfirmed items, I urge you to make your own judgment.

(August 5th)
One of the two interviews I promised is finally up. You can now find the SELECT magazine interview in interviews.

(August 5th)
If anyone wants to read about the 1981 PiL "Ritz" New York riot, go to "Perfect Sound Forever". They have a very interesting article about it, supposedly written by the person who was responsible for the whole incident ever happening.

(August 5th)
As we all know, Lydon's tour kicked off on Sunday. If anybody finds any reviews in their local papers (or your own reviews), I'd love to post them. After I go see him in about a week, I'll definitely be posting my review!

(August 1st)
Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days, but I've been very busy. Not much news anyway. I'm going to try very hard to have the SELECT and NME interviews up this weekend.

(August 1st)
Quick update: www.johnlydon.com still isn't up. (Whatever!) Also Mtv's 120 Minutes received some well deserved hate-mail from me last night due to their obvious refusal to update their site and premiere the "Sun" video. If anybody gets bored, feel free to visit their site and drop them a line too!

(July 26th)
The WAV files from the CBC interview are now up. I'm sure there are a few parts that I should've made sound files for, but unfortunately due to limited space it just wasn't possible.

(July 25th)
Here are a couple more reviews of "Psycho's Path"...

This one is from a local Toronto magazine called "NOW":
The rating was NNNN out of five N's.
(Sent in by Adam)

John Lydon may be the rock world's most insufferable geezer, but stupid he ain't. For his first-ever solo disc, the former PiL and Sex Pistols frontman scares up the best in the electronic music sphere - Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Moby - to detonate throbbing, vibrant, sometimes discomforting backdrops that Lydon then splatters with smug, hyper-enunciated rants. With that kind of man-power at the decks, Lydon can't help but eke success out of Psycho's Path even if, at times, the urge to tune him out of the mix is overwhelming. There's just so much sniveling one can endure, especially since much of Lydon's material takes truly adventurous turns that are invariably shot down to earth by his rusted-out yelps. Still, when it all clicks, the groove sweeps up everything in its path. A remix by Leftfield of the song Sun, for instance - with its faux-accordion squawks and bloopy Euro-sound - is a delight, and for once Lydon lets the breakbeats take centrestage. Lydon again follows the path less traveled.

This one was in a recent issue of "Entertainment Weekly":
(Sent in by Jenni)

"Lydon's wonderfully titled solo debut finds the ex-Sex Pistol venturing into electronica with mixed results. Path has its moments (as do most of the albums Lydon made with Public Image Ltd. after the Pistols' demise), but the overall effect is surprisingly bland, like watered-down Trent Reznor. Maybe Lydon should call his next band Two Inch Nails. C+ --TS "

(July 25th)
Just a quick update: I should have the sound files I promised from the CBC interview up this weekend. I'll let you know when they're done. Also, the NME interview should be up on this site in a few days too.

(July 22nd)
I'm told the new issue of SELECT magazine has an interview with Lydon in it. I hope to have it up soon, as well as the full NME interview. Apparently it's a very good interview with several great pics of Johnny in it. By the way, the SELECT site doesn't have the interview posted. All it has is a pretty unflattering album review. And the NME site only features excerpts of the full Lydon interview.

(July 22nd)
Speaking of bad reviews... this article was found in a local Toronto newspaper: (thanks to Brendan)

From NETWORK volume 11, # 2
"Hmm. John Lydon talking about human rights? What does one make of such a thing? This solo album from the former Sex Pistol and the PiL leader is interesting - with some nice dark synth ballads, and upbeat dance tunes - but is far from a satisfying listen. Some of the techno flourishes just don't work and sometimes his voice is more grating than usual, but at least it's better than the last couple of PiL albums." - S.B.

(July 18th)
This Sunday's "120 Minutes" preview is up on Mtv's web site. However, it doesn't list Lydon's "Sun" video as being premiered. Familiar words: Maybe next Sunday!

(July 18th)
Remember that web site that was supposed to be up a long time ago... www.johnlydon.com? Well now, instead of it not letting you go there (i.e. it doesn't exist at all or you typed the address wrong), it now lets you go there but says: "The requested object does not exist on this server. The link you followed is either outdated, inaccurate, or the server has been instructed not to let you have it." Interesting. Maybe it's some kind of indication that it'll be up and running very soon.

(July 18th)
Virgin's John Lydon section now has what appears to be an almost complete tour schedule - except there are still 1 or 2 shows not listed that have been confirmed elsewhere. Also, Ticketmaster added a couple more shows to their list too. I guess they're in no hurry to get them all up at once!

(July 17th)
Virgin's John Lydon section has a (hopefully) partial tour schedule listed. It differs from TIcketmaster's in that it doesn't list any of the September shows and is missing some of the August shows. Here's what they have listed, so far:

8/3/97 HOB New Orleans, LA
8/4/97 Numbers Houston, TX
8/6/97 Liberty Austin, TX
8/8/97 Tree's Dallas, TX
8/10/97 Electric Ballroom Phoenix, TX
8/13/97 Palace Los Angeles, CA
8/14/97 Fillmore San Francisco, CA
8/16/97 La Luna Portland, OR
8/17/97 Showbox Seattle, WA
8/19/97 Brick SLC, UT
8/20/97 Ogden Denver, CO
8/22/97 Nights St Louis, MS
8/23/97 Metro Chicago, IL

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