You can’t have a conversation about classic punk bands without talking about X. In 1977, while the Ramones were exploding on the East Coast, X rose up from the streets of Los Angeles and carved their niche in punk history. On an unseasonably warm night in Washington, DC, they proved to the crowd at the 9:30 Club that age is truly just a number.
Starting out the night were newcomers Not In The Face. The bass-less trio from Austin, TX gave it their all despite most of the crowd not being inside the venue yet. With a sound that started out like Queens of the Stone Age’s distant cousin, then morphed into a bluesy, rockabilly strut, then back to a more modern indie rock sound, it seemed as if rather than having a broad range of styles, they were just a band in search of an identity. Mixing in covers like Link Wray’s “Rumble” and Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Wild One” got the attention of the slowly building crowd, but not all of their originals got as hearty of a response.
After some grand, majestic intro music, The Reverend Horton Heat took the stage. No stranger to the 9:30 Club, The Rev sounded great as he kicked off his set with the classic “Psychobilly Freakout.” The crowd, which had grown substantially at this point, responded in kind. From there, they went into “Lonesome Train Whistle,” and he made note that he was playing one song from every album and would introduce each song with “Album #4!” and “Album #5!” etc.
Musically, the whole band was in fine form. The Reverend’s playing style (and clothing style) are something to behold, displaying a fantastic mixture of rockabilly, twang, and rock done to perfection. Jimbo Wallace is a maestro of the upright bass, and they welcomed former drummer of 11 years Scott Churilla (currently of The Supersuckers) back into the fold. One thing that was evident was while the playing was top-notch, The Rev and company have slowed down a bit over the years, with the set being less physically frenetic than in the past.
It could be debated whether this was a response to the crowd, which was unusually sedate for a Horton Heat set, or if the crowd was a response to the band’s lack of energy. There was a lot of cheering and vocal support, but very little movement or activity from the audience. However, a fun highlight of the evening (aside from his trademark standing on top of Jimbo’s bass while they played “Party In Your Head”) was when The Rev and Jimbo traded instruments and cranked out a raucous version of Chuck Berry’s timeless “Johnny Be Goode.” The set drew to an end with “Big Red Rocket of Love,” and the crowd filed to the bars, bathrooms, or out front for a smoke.
After the short break, X came out with the pedal to the floor, kicking things off with the classics “Year 1” and “It’s Who You Know.” Co-lead singer Exene Cervenka was in fine form, belting it out with all she had. Singer-bassist (and sometimes actor) John Doe was all over the place, as if determined to prove that age hasn’t slowed him down a bit, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake held it all together with power and ease.
John and Exene’s vocals played off of each other. As they made their way through songs like “Johny Hit and Run Pauline,” “Adult Books,” and “Devil Doll,” one of the most striking things was guitarist Billy Zoom. While he remained stoically planted near his monitor, Billy wore a huge smile on his face for almost the entire set, a welcome counterpart to so many younger bands that appear absolutely bored on stage. The quote of the night had to be from John Doe. As he was trying to remember which song was the A side and which was the B side of a single, he proclaimed, “The single is coming back, right after LPs. Vinyl is king, right?” which was met with enthusiastic approval from the crowd.
Once again, the audience was quite a bit more sedate than you would imagine at a punk show, with violent slamdancing being replaced by dancing, headbobbing, and a couple of shoves every now and then, even during the renowned “Los Angeles.” While physically more relaxed, those in attendance were treated to a great set, and each song was met with ardent graciousness from a mixture of those who witnessed them over 30 years ago and those who were just seeing them for the first time. Blasting from song to song with very little chit-chat in between, X jammed roughly 26 songs into just over an hour.
With many of them clocking in at two minutes or less, X’s everlasting and unique brand of poetic proto-punk tinged with rockabilly, folk, and garage rock elements has altered the theory of “less is more,” possibly proclaiming themselves as “less of more.”
X:
The Reverend Horton Heat:
Not In The Face:
Photos: Kristin Horgen
