X / Los Straitjackets X-Mas 2022 Tour
Full Name:
Philzone Refugee
Forums:
X
The Neptune Theatre
Seattle, Washington
December 8, 2022
Beyond And Back
Sex And Dying In High Society
Because I Do
White Girl
Water & Wine
Free
I'm Coming Over
Come Back To Me
I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts
Adult Books
ALPHABETLAND
The Hungry Wolf
Breathless
Goodbye Year, Goodbye
True Love
The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss
Los Angeles
Johnny Hit And Run Paulene
Nausea
Soul Kitchen
Encore:
Blue Spark
Your Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not
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X and Los Straitjackets opened their X-Mas Tour last night in Seattle. It was a really fun and exceptionally well-played night of Rock 'n Roll. Los Straitjackets played a tight set of surf-rock instrumentals to open, loaded with lots of 2-3 minute songs with lots of vibrato and tremolo-laden flair.
Earlier in the day, their guitarists Eddie and Greg dropped down into my store. Had a nice chat with Greg while we played a few Jazz 7" records he wanted to check out. One of my customers who is battling lung cancer had dropped by one of their 7" picture sleeves a couple of days ago, hoping we could get it signed for him, as Los Straightjackets are his favorite band. Greg kindly took it with him and dropped it back off later, signed by the whole band. My friend was so happy when I gave it back to him before the show. They made a wish come true! Those guys are aces.
X came on next. They had clearly honed their set, as there was no rust evident in their sound. They sounded great, playing a generous sampling of their back catalog mixed in with a healthy selection of new tunes from their first album in years, ALPHABETLAND, which dropped during the pandemic. It was so nice to hear the new music, which added a dash of vitality to the show. Everyone looked and sounded good. Exene and John were stylish and sexy as ever, and in strong vocal form. D.J. was rocking his drum kit and played vibes on a sweet Please Come Back To Me that also featured Billy Zoom on sax. Billy's guitar tone was dialed in all night. He played most of the first half of their set sitting in a high-backed chair, then stood to play the back end of the set. He was taking charge on stage, and it looked like the music was enervating him.
I know it was me. Seeing them takes me back to being a 16 year old again, when I first discovered them around the time Under The Big Black Sun came out. All these years later, we're all still here, and the music still heals.
Viva X and Los Straitjackets!
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
i'll be at the belly up, good
i'll be at the belly up, good to hear they are rippin'
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mike Dalton
Thanks for the fantastic
Thanks for the fantastic review. Going to the Portland show tonight and can't wait.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
I'll be at the Great American
I'll be at the Great American next week, as always looking forward to seeing some real rock 'n roll from one of my favorite bands.
>>>played vibes on a sweet Please Come Back To Me that also featured Billy Zoom on sax<<<
They've been doing that one for a while now, and personally I wish they'd put it away, or at least not do it every show. For me it's a piss-break song, which with most bands is OK except X doesn't play long enough to give up time for that bit.
I think it's really cool that they stuck with Billy after he got sick, and usually he can still rip it up enough to make it X, but he's not the player he used to be while the other three are still raging. I'd love to see them once with Dave Alvin, but at this point I'm not complaining. As long as I get some coffee and a piece of pie (and as always I'll be hoping for a Blue Spark) I'm always happy to see the greatness of X.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Woz
I'm psycjed for the GAMH show
I'm psyched for the GAMH show on Monday night!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mike Dalton
'Billy's not player he used
'Billy's not player he used to be.'
Hey Lance. Neither are we! Enjoy the show
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
X played well but a really
X played well but a really short show last night....no blue sparks, no johnny hit n run.....
john doe is still the shit an exene is a punk rock goddess...she looked good.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
Exene is looking better. She
Exene is looking better. She looks like she lost some weight, and was moving okay. Tough, but important things to do as we age if you hope to stay agile. It was encoraging to see Billy moving around for a good bit of the show too. Nobody expects to be like Mick Jagger, but good nutrition and exercise can help a whole lot.
Billy will be 75 in February. Exene is the youngest at 66, with D.J. 67, and John 69. Hope they stay healthy and keep performing. It's cool they're still writing new material and playing.