In The Loop Magazine ITLM OTRS Presents: The Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter and Bad Nerves at The Fillmore (Philadelphia, PA)

ITLM OTRS Presents: The Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter and Bad Nerves at The Fillmore (Philadelphia, PA)

Oct 04, 2026 admin_bitlc Features, ITLM OTRS, Music News, Reviews 0

Review: By Raymond Burton Estes

Photos: By Fleurette Estes

Never mind the critics, the Sex Pistols – Steve Jones (guitar), Paul Cook (drums), and Glen Matlock (bass) – featuring Frank Carter were (are) great! I still can’t believe my partner and photographer Fleurette and I were fortunate enough to see these fellas perform their legendary songs. I missed them back in 1996 on their ‘Filthy Lucre Tour’ and was not about to make that same mistake again. And while they didn’t have original singer and frontman, John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) singing, they did have a rather solid replacement (if that’s possible) in Carter, who breathed new life into legendary songs that inspired countless individuals to start their own bands and grow punk rock into a global movement that birthed the careers of later generation punks, like himself.

The crowd began lining up outside The Fillmore Philadelphia sometime before 2:00 p.m., with early birds seeking to guarantee their spots against the rail. Fans ranged in age from their 60’s to young teenagers who coalesced into small groups aligned with their places in the queue and talked about the show, other bands they liked, and the importance of the Sex Pistols to them and their own musical journeys. There was also a powerful sense of East Coast attitude. When the venue finally opened the doors, the crowd quickly made their way towards the stage. Because the club formed two lines and let both in at the same time, some folks who were early in line lost their places to others who showed up later and were faster at making their way to the front. This set the stage for some of the tension and violence that would happen later.

While waiting for the show to begin, we mingled with the crowd and talked to some interesting people, including actor Defne Halman, currently a New Yorker with a successful acting career in Turkey. What struck us most was how this band brought together strangers of all ages and many parents with their children and grandchildren. There were punks, metalheads, indie rockers, and those too hard to pin down. No doubt, there were real fans, cultural tourists, and others who would rather fight than rock. But what would a Sex Pistols show be without a little tension and…violence?

Hailing from Essex, England, the opening band, Bad Nerves, kicked off their set at 8:30 p.m. and ran through eight songs in thirty minutes, delivering high-octane punk rock that wetted the crowd’s appetite for the Sex Pistols. Bad Nerves’ sound is a perfect blend of Ramones and the Vaccines, and they quite rightly deserve credit for their fresh take on the Ramones’ formula. Bad Nerves’ stage presence was incredible and almost bold because it was hard to imagine the three original Sex Pistols being able to keep up. But their energy and movements helped them demonstrate that punk music is dance music, and they got the crowd moving their feet – pogoing, slam dancing, and making their rounds in a circle pit.

After Bad Nerves finished their set, several enterprising fans moved up to the railing, pushing, and shoving others out the way to claim territory closer to the stage and the Sex Pistols. Combined with dehydration and drinking, this claim jumping contributed to the tension in the air.

At 9:30 p.m., the Sex Pistols hit the stage and began their set with “Holidays in the Sun,” and the crowd went wild. It was as if there was an explosion with the crowd pushing towards the railing, jumping, dancing, and singing along as Frank Carter challenged the crowd to react. As they plowed through their songs, some individuals plowed through the crowd. As the hurt feelings and bodies piled up, so did the fights, so much so that they interrupted the show, making the crowd just as much a spectacle as the band.

As the Sex Pistols ripped through their set, Carter moved from the stage to the floor, joining the crowd for a little bit of song and dance. Matlock looked on in amusement and amazement, as if he wondered why he and the ol’ blokes hadn’t done something like this sooner. Who could blame him? He and the boys were playing songs they wrote half a century ago and young people were still hungry for them. The crowd showed their appreciation for Carter’s enthusiasm while also demonstrating their love for the old timers on the stage, something not lost on Jones who made a point of encouraging the crowd to thank Carter for making nights like this possible.

The Sex Pistols tore through eleven of the twelve songs on their only real album, ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’, along with three covers – the Stooges’ “No Fun,” Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” (made famous by the Monkees and also covered by Minor Threat), and Paul Anka’s “My Way” (notably performed by Frank Sinatra as well as the Sex Pistols’ own Sid Vicious). The only song off Never Mind the Bollocks the band didn’t play was “Sub-Mission” and that’s a shame, as it would have been killer to hear the full album live. Selfishly, I would have enjoyed hearing them play more of their own songs, with Jones singing “Silly Thing.”

But, like Mick Jagger sang, “You can’t always get what you want…But if you try sometimes, well, you might find…You get what you need.” And this show was just what we both needed! Part history lesson. Part out-oftown adventure. All punk rock celebration. Thank you, Messrs., Jones, Cook, Matlock, and Carter for a wonderful night!