Photos by Chris Besaw
Review by Kelly Besaw
This past Thursday night in the bustling city of Rochester, NY, a sizeable crowd lined up outside the Water Street Music Hall to see the legendary Los Angeles punk quartet, X. I had not been to Water Street Music Hall in a long time but was happy to be back and to be seeing X for the first time since I saw them at Camp Anarchy in 2016.
First up was the Los Angeles based duo Dead Rock West who started off the evening with their unique blend of punk and root rock all played acoustically. This was my first time seeing them live and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Duo which consists of Frank Lee Drennen and Cindy Wasserman came out and played a nice mix of songs from their thirty plus year career including, “Bleeding Blue,” “Clear Blue Night,” and “Darkness Never Tells.” One thing that was unique about the band is that they released a tribute album to the Everly Brothers in 2015 and it was neat to hear them perform a couple of their versions of their songs such as “Cathy’s Clown,” and “Chained to a Memory.” After about a 45-minute set the duo thanked the crowd at the Water Street Music Hall and made way for the evening’s headliner, X!
With anticipation building and the crowd packing in, it was clear that the fans were excited for X to take the stage. The stage backdrop featured the band’s eye-catching logo and the cryptic message, “the end is near” which may serve as a warning that this could be their last tour. Honestly, I don’t think is unreasonable given the band has been recording and performing for almost 47 years.
X who is currently on tour in support of their ninth full length release Smoke & Fiction, didn’t waste any time starting the evening off with a bang with the clever and rocking track “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not” off their self-titled debut album. The fans loved it and immediately started moving and dancing. X which consists of Billy Zoom (guitars, saxophone), D.J. Bonebrake (drums), John Doe (bass, lead vocals) and Exene Cervenka (lead vocals) played an eclectic and powerful mix of songs from their amazing career with favorites like, “Adult Books,” “White Girl,” and one of my favorite tracks “We’re Desperate!”
I couldn’t believe how amazing they sounded. They were tight and on point. I love how well John Doe’s deep rugged vocals and Cervenka’s keen vocal stylings combine and fall perfectly into sync with their musical style making them one of punk rock’s best vocal duos. A couple of my favorite moments from the show included their cover of the Doors song “Soul Kitchen” and for the encore Exene and John Doe came back onstage to perform an acoustic version of “See How We Are.”
X played an incredible set at the Water Street Music Hall and even though it has been touted that The End is Near, I certainly hope not for this amazing band. If X never makes their way to Upstate NY again, I will argue that they ended their run on an extremely high note. I am so glad I got to see them and thank you, X, for an amazing, energetic show!
Please enjoy some photo highlights from the show.
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