SAN JOSE, Calif. — There’s only one question left to be answered after witnessing the Sex Pistols perform with lead singer Frank Carter at the Warfield on Wednesday night (Oct. 14):

Johnny who?

I say that a bit in jest, throwing back some edginess at a punk rock icon who built a career on that behavioral trait. Still, with due respect to Johnny Rotten (aka, John Lydon) — who arguably ranks as one of the top three most important figures in punk rock history — it’s hard to imagine the Sex Pistols being even remotely as good with him on the mic in 2026 as they are with Carter.

This new 42-year-old singer was fiercely engaged with both the crowd and the music, incredibly energetic and purposeful on the stage and sounded mighty strong on vocals throughout the night — all things that we haven’t seen from Lydon in his work with his post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL) in years.

I’m not saying this San Francisco show was like seeing the Sex Pistols on their first American tour in 1978 — in part, because I wasn’t there. But I can tell you, with firsthand experience, that this show was way better than the self-aware and overall sad Filthy Lucre reunion tour that hit Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View back in 1996.

The band — featuring original members Paul Cook on drums, Glen Matlock on bass and the great Steve Jones on guitar — are on the road in celebration of their 50th anniversary. This North American trek was originally slated for 2025, but was pushed back a year to allow Jones time to heal from a broken wrist.

To mark the occasion, the Sex Pistols are performing one of the most important albums of all time — “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” — the genre-defining punk rock manifesto that reshaped pop culture and inspired millions of musicians. They’d perform that landmark debut (mostly) in its entirety — with “Submission,” for some reason, being the only album track left off the 15-song setlist. The four musicians — who are officially going by the moniker of Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter — also took some liberties in terms of strictly following the track listing, moving some songs down or up in the order of play, as well as added a few bonus numbers.

Of course, it’s hardly a big woo-hoo when the Pistols stick mainly to the first album, given that it’s the only full-length studio album in the catalog.

Opening with “Holidays in the Sun” — the number that also kick-starts the album du jour — and then moving right into the side two offerings “Seventeen” and “New York,” the Sex Pistols sounded strong and focused right out of the gate, doing honor to the source material while still adding a bit of 2026 vibe and energy to the mix. Almost of all of the latter came courtesy of the rambunctious new singer, who originally made his name fronting the English hardcore act Gallows and his own Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes.

Carter was clearly thrilled to be back in San Francisco, taking time to recall for the audience a trip he took with his parents to the City by the Bay back when he was 14. He remembered driving down Market Street and seeing the Warfield and pleading — unsuccessfully — with his parents to allow him to go to a concert. And now he wasn’t just watching a concert at the venue — he was playing one.

“This means the world to me — being at the Warfield,” he remarked.

Carter was extremely interactive with the crowd — especially with the bustling mosh pit that pulsed and surged in front of them. He actually step down from the stage and sing “Pretty Vacant” from the pit, then later crowd surf in various shapes and forms — including upside down with his feet sticking right up in the air — to the delight of his fellow mosh men and women.

Later in the evening, he’d even ask for those men to momentarily step aside so that the women could rule the pit.

“For the next song, this will be a ladies-only mosh pit,” Carter said prior to the band playing what he dubbed “the best Sex Pistols song ever written” — “No Feelings.” “I promise you will never see a happier mosh pit. In this environment, this is the bare minimum that you should expect from every band you go see from now on.”

Although Carter was the star of the show, and drew most of the attention from the crowd with his energy, antics and charisma, he made it clear that the original Pistols were the true legends on the stage.

“You ready to bounce?” Carter asked prior to launching into the group’s cover of “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” “This one is dedicated to these (Sex Pistols) guys. they literally invented the pogo. Do not let them down.”

Jones was superb on the ax throughout the night, further supporting the notion that he deserves to be ranked among the best punk guitarists of all time. Plus, it was great to hear the reunited rhythm section of Cook and Matlock — who was jettisoned from the band in early ’77 for Sid Vicious, who was less musically sophisticated but a far better fit the Sex Pistols image. Vicious, of course, died about a year after the Pistols originally split in 1978. (One more bass note: Jones was likely the best bassist of the bunch and it’s him you’ll hear playing the instrument on the majority of “Never Mind the Bollocks” album.)

The group was joined on the stage by Arrow de Wilde, whose L.A. band Starcrawler provided an excellent opening set at the Warfield, and together they’d pull off a powerful version of “Silly Things” with de Wilde and Carter sharing vocal duties. The Starcrawler front woman sounded so good in this role that it left me thinking she could step at the microphone for the next Sex Pistols tour if Carter happens to be busy.

The second half of the night was just filled with Pistols classics, as the group powered through the likes of “No Fun,” “No Feelings,” E.M.I.” and “God Save the Queen.” They’d close up shop in appropriately legendary fashion, leaving these fans with the ultimate punk anthem “Anarchy in the U.K.” before heading off to their next stop on this 50th anniversary tour.

Setlist:

1. “Holidays in the Sun”

2. “Seventeen”

3. “New York”

4. “Pretty Vacant”

5. “Bodies”

6. “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”

7. “Silly Thing”

8. “Liar”

9. “God Save the Queen”

10. “No Fun”

11. “No Feelings”

12. “Problems”

13. “E.M.I.”

14. “My Way”

15. “Anarchy in the U.K.”

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