They say you cant go home again. They say you will never again feel as you do right this moment.
I can tell you that Sunday night at The Paradise Rock Club, I went home and it was amazing.
I spend so much time slagging bands 'of age', taunting them to mentor or produce, but get off the stage. I wont take that back – most should.
X, the quintessential Los Angeles punk band should stand front and center. A band that was pure to begin with has remained true to that to this day.
At age 55, Exene Cervanka is the mistress of Ceremony and you should thank your starts you were honored with her presence. Vocally as strong and quirky as ever this is no nostalgia act this is the real deal. She still does that silly sort of Peanuts character dance move and its still adorable. You would think that sway would loose its cute- it has not,
Very little interaction with the crowd added to the X mystique, This was not a memory lane tour this was a rock show. Crowd surfers were curtly informed by Cervanka that she would not be kicked in the face and to 'aim for the (exit) light if you wanted to 'float on the crowd'.
The performance of the LP "Los Angeles" at first, seemed an odd choice but after seeing the show the material was irrelevent, they could have chosen any of their albums and the outcome would be just as magnificent. X did nearly 2 hours of true punk rock. I stood in the packed club surrounded by Bostons older wiser punks and realized these were the street kids all grown up. I cant say we have all aged well.
Musically and vocally X remains pristine. DJ Bonebrake kept the beat in double time and I still am shocked he doesn't just tip over. Billy Zoom? Just as adorable as ever. Power stance and still with an occasional smile or silly expression. He reminds me of Colin Mockrie- sorry Billy.. yeah. Billy was also accompanied by a videographer who shot the crowd through the entire show from over Billy's shoulder. Sort of interesting.
John Doe in his TexMex shirt and boots sporting long hair and very little interaction fingered the bass as masterfully as always. You would think his voice would have aged, perhaps gone all Willie Nelson but it hasn't at all. Just as perfectly twanged as thirty years ago.
To be quite honest with you if you shut your eyes- it was X of days gone by. The passion, the tone, the rhythm just the same. Just as glorious. Open your eyes and you see that the magic of X was never prepackaged and spoon fed. X was, and is 4 magnificently talented people being bad ass motherfucker with finesse.