Saturday night May 12, X headlined a show at Seattle’s Showbox Market. I’ve seen X play about half a dozen times over the last several years, not only as X, but also their alter egos, The Knitters. They never disappoint me. I believe X are the only American band from the birth of punk still playing with the original members — Exene Cervenka on vocals, John Doe on bass and vocals, Billy Zoom on guitar and DJ Bonebreak on drums. They are all looking great and still sound great. Exene came out wearing a brightly colored floral dress and a tattered khaki zippered hoodie. She can still belt out the songs as well as she did when the band formed thirty-five years ago. John Doe has got to be one of the most energetic bass players ever. The harmonies of the two resonate with folkiness, but with the strong punk guitar from Billy Zoom and fierce drumming from DJ Bonebreak. The band played most their classics, including the opener of “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, but You’re Not.” Other classics included “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline,” and “Hungry Wolf.”
When they performed what is probably their biggest hit, “Los Angeles,” Exene handed the mic off to a couple women in front and let them sing a bit before snatching it back. This was the only audience interaction she exhibited throughout the entire show. In fact, John Doe was the only one who actually spoke to the crowd. He lauded the staff at the Showbox, saying they didn’t throw you down the stairs or ask for your credentials like they did in Port . . . He stopped short before mentioning Portland completely.
During Hungry Wolf, DJ showed off his drumming prowess with a short but stunning solo. John Doe’s bass looks like it’s gotten heavy use. The paint was almost nearly all scratched off exposing bare wood. It’s easy to see why when watching him play. He shreds those strings into oblivion.
Half way into their set, a stagehand ran out with a roll of duct tape. Doe jokingly stated that Billy Zoom had broken a mic stand by the sheer force of his guitar playing. The mic stand was quickly fixed and the band then played their rendition of the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen.”
The encore included more of their famous songs including “Devil Doll.” I was disappointed they didn’t play “Wrecking Ball,” but perhaps John Doe can’t hit those high notes any more.
My one complaint about the show is that the sound quality was crappy. The vocals could barely be heard above the music and everything came out sounding like a radio with a blown speaker.
The Suicide Notes from Portland opened the show. The Suicide Notes are a six piece consisting of three female vocalists and three male musicians (guitar, bass and drums). The women came out wearing matching tight knit dresses with wide horizontal black and white stripes. They performed with choreographed, synchronized dance moves and were very charismatic. Their songs were quirky and full of hooks and very reminiscent of sixties pop. The vocals reminded me of Leslie Gore but with three-part harmony. The Suicide Notes are a fun band. I really enjoyed them. They have great stage presence and clearly enjoy performing. At first I thought the vocals were weak, but when I heard the same problem with X, I concluded it was a bad sound mix. They received a very enthusiastic response from the packed house. The Suicide Notes are worth checking out and X played a great show as always.
– Holly Homan
All photos property of Holly Homan. All rights reserved.
