Punk legends X played the final date of their very-short "Xmas Tour" at the Roseland Theater here in Portland earlier this month.
Their live sets were preceeded by a screening of the 1986 film X: The Unheard Music. It's a pretty good docu about the band and I recommend it if you are even remotely interested in this unique, seminal band. The show was pretty well sold out in this large venue so a lot of folks had to stand to watch the movie. A free-standing screen was on the stage and the DVD projected there. DIY, perhaps? I don't know but it had that sort of feel to it all. It was also heartening to not be the oldest person at the show AND to have quite a few youngsters and families in attendance (the all-ages section of the floor space was right beneath our balcony seating).
Perhaps the best part of watching the docu was enjoying the crowd reactions, laughing or applauding some Billy Zoom craziness, John Doe sexiness, DJ Bonebrake uber-talent-ness, and Exene self-indulgent-ness. The crowd gave a resound BOO! to footage of Ronald Reagan which warmed my heart. I can only wonder, though, what the band themselves think of seeing this film now, so many years later. It's an interesting self-expose that they'd show images of their youthful selves and then, immediately afterward, take the stage all (I think) now in their 50's.
But take the stage they did, perhaps energized at seeing their youth on display. They quite literally tore through the entire Los Angeles album, John Doe even introducing mid-way "And now, side 2." Their second set was Wild Gift in its entirety to boot!
While Billy Zoom can't quite stretch out like he used to he's certainly lost none of his chops. DJ is, well, DJ - consumate, amazingly good drummer. Exene kept the chatter to a minimum which I appreciated. Maybe that's her MS doing that, I don't know, but she was definitely a trooper, belting out the songs as best she could. John Doe was all over the place, clearly still having a ball. It was obvious that those who are still regularly playing (Doe, Bonebrake, and Zoom) haven't lost a step at all, either.
So, yes, they're old and hearing We're Desperate now might not have the same personal resonance it once did but that's no knock against them. X still know how to bring it without coming across as another aging band trying to capitalize exclusively on past glory.
I managed one phone pic that I was happy with, too:
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
X at the Roseland, Portland, OR, 1.1.2011
Collapse
X
Collapse
-
X at the Roseland, Portland, OR, 1.1.2011
-
#1RoderickButthornFind all postsView Profile01-12-2011, 04:27 PMEditing a commentNice write up. I saw them at the Moore in Seattle on New Year's Eve and it sounds like pretty much the same experience. It was a bit of a mind bender to see them turn old before your eyes as they hit the stage after the documentary. But they played tight and looked like they were having a good time.
Posting comments is disabled. -
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (271)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2512)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (298)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Sony Music
Released on: December 9th, 2003.
Director: Wayne Isham
Cast: Judas Priest
Year: 1986
Purchase From Amazon
Judas Priest - Electric Eye – Movie Review:
The Judas Priest – Electric Eye DVD from Sony Music/BMG captures the band at the height of their popularity and was released just in time for what was, at the time, the upcoming reunion tour which saw original vocalist Rob Halford reuniting with the band...-
Channel: Music
07-17-2022, 05:06 PM -
-
World War IX - Phoning It In (Emergency Breakthru Records) Album Review
Released by: Emergency Breakthru
Released on: May, 2021.
Purchase From The World War IX Website
It's been a while, but NYC's own World War IX are back, this time with a new 10†EP and a new lead vocalist, following up 2015's If One Of These Bottles Should Happen To Fall EP.! The skinny, smelly looking flexible guy named Filthy Phill is gone, replaced by new guy Johnny Celentano...-
Channel: Music
06-01-2021, 07:11 PM -
-
Released by: AFM Records
Released on: June 4th, 2021.
Purchase From Amazon
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have been at this since the early 1980s and are probably best remembered for giving bassist Jason Newstead to METALLICA. Their first two records - Doomsday For The Deceiver and No Place For Disgrace are considered classics of the thrash metal genre but like many other acts that started strong on an indie label and wound up on a major label during the thrash signing boom ...-
Channel: Music
05-25-2021, 10:02 AM -
-
Released by: AFM Records
Released on: March 19th, 2021.
Purchase From Amazon Recorded in Bulgaria - where life is cheap! Hot on the heels of his utterly bizarre We Are One collaboration (also reviewed here at RSP!), everyone's favorite Teutonic Metal ogre Herr Udo Dirkschneider returns with that ubiquitous staple - the live album. For a while now it has been common practice for legacy acts, or pretty much any band with a history over 20 years long, to release a live album...-
Channel: Music
03-05-2021, 01:04 AM -
-
Released by: Massacre Records Released on: February 12, 2021. Purchase From Amazon “Metal in my head... EXPLODING!†Germany's WIZARD have been at this since 1991 and at this point have pretty much nailed this “true metal†thing down to a science. This, the band's 12th full length offers very little in the way of musical surprises and appears to be purposefully designed that way. WIZARD are catering to a very specific demographic - aficionados of gloriously irony-free...
-
Channel: Music
01-28-2021, 10:19 AM -
-
Released by: Skydog Records/MVD
Released on: December 18th, 2020.
Year: Various
Purchase From Amazon
Iggy And The Stooges - From K.O. To Chaos Review: This eight disc boxed set, made up of seven CDs and one DVD, gathers together all of the Iggy And The Stooges releases that have been released over the years from France's Skydog Records, including the infamous Metallic KO album from 1976 and the two complete shows that that album was culled from, in ad...-
Channel: Music
12-30-2020, 02:21 PM -