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I want to be John Doe. As a drummer, I’d like to have the skills of D.J. Bonebrake, the classically trained percussionist of legendary California punk act X, but it’s vocalist/bassist Doe that has the most swagger and charm. He plucks away at his bass maniacally on stage; he’s smooth on the mic and he’s aged pretty well. A poet who continues to write and record to this day (his latest solo effort, A Year in the Wilderness, was released last year), he also owns a shirt that reads, simply, "John Fuckin’ Doe."
The band behind classic albums like Los Angeles and Wild Gift is currently on its "13 X 31" tour, honoring the group’s 31st anniversary. A May 22 performance at the TLA with fellow punk/rockabilly enthusiasts The Detroit Cobras confirmed that this odd-numbered celebration wasn’t unjustified — 21 years after its formation, X is still a top live act.
The Detroit Cobras were a perfect complement to X, and the crowd certainly agreed. While there wasn’t too much dancing in the TLA — minus a smattering of enthusiastically ungainly adults — there was plenty of hooting and hollering after every Cobras song. Frontwoman Rachel Nagy’s voice is a good selling point — soulful but ever-so-slightly cracked. The band’s sunny, boozy 50-minute cover set included fine cuts from the rock canon, something the slightly older crowd appreciated.
It’s cool to see the punk lifers in X. Frontwoman Exene Cervenka still rocks a black granny dress. Like Doe, she’s still artistically active, with a slew of art collages ranging from postcard collections to a NYC gallery show, running through July 18, entitled "Sleep in Spite of Thunder." Billy Zoom looks almost exactly as he did in ‘ 77 — lightly older, of course, but he’s still got the slicked-back blonde coif, the leather jacket and the wolfish grin. As for Bonebrake … he’s bald now, but he dominates the kit fiercely and pounds cans of Guinness awfully well.
An incredibly full rendition of "Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not," the first song off X’s debut, marked the beginning of the band’s set, which ended up leaning toward the group’s first two efforts, though a few mid-period tunes like "The New World," "Devil Doll" and "We’re Having Much More Fun" from worked their way in. Tunes like "Adult Books," "We’re Desperate" and "The Hungry Wolf" sound superior live. It was the Los Angeles material, though, that got the biggest response — the band pretty much played that album in its entirety.
X often posed for photos while performing. Doe engaged the crowd in conversations about voting, drinking and urban decay. Bonebrake, when he could get away from his kit, was quick with handshakes. Zoom made it a point to have every woman in the room touch his guitar. The instrument’s phallic nature has never been so clear, nor so traumatizing, to me. After playing for an hour, X returned for two encores, busting out a few more favorites before bowing out. Doe and Cervenka trimmed down vocal parts here and there to save energy, but that didn’t bother the crowd.
It’s funny — in 1983, X released "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts," a song about being the last active punk act in the U.S. The Ramones and The Clash disbanded long ago; even X’s ’80s hardcore peers have burned out. But in 2008, X is still touring, enticing crowds to "bring the flag."
X performing at the TLA 

On Thursday, May 22, X played at the Theater of the Living Arts (TLA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. ''Wikinews'' was there for the concert.

The band stopped in Philadelphia as part of their "13 x 31 Anniversary Tour," marking the bands 31st anniversary. The performance was the first since the bands last visit on their "As the World Burns Tour" in 2006, and featured the original line-up of John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, and D.J. Bonebrake.

Having not released an album of new work since 1993's hey Zeus!, the tour is an opportunity for one of punk rock's seminal bands to connect with their fans. The band played a strong set of material from their first four albums, all recorded during the years of 1980 - 1983.

No material from their last two studio albums was played, with some citing the strong preferences of guitarist Billy Zoom for the earlier work. X came on stage around 10:30 pm and played until close to midnight. Their full-throttle set started with "Your Phone's Off the Hook, But You’re Not," and didn’t slow down after that, although slowing down might be hard seeing as the set was classic punk – high energy songs full of angst and anger. This was moderated though by Doe’s on-going comments to the audience and Zoom's mugging. Exene, dressed in an oversize black dress seemed subdued and her vocals seemed quieter than usual – though her off-key harmonizing with Does’ vocals was true to the song's original recordings. During the second encore they were joined by Rachel Nagy who provided additional vocals. That encore was delayed by Zoom, who was in the audience seemingly determined to meet every woman in the audience.

While X has not produced an album of new material in 21 years, the band did visit recently as their alter-ego, The Knitters. Each of the members of the band has kept busy. Doe has released several solo albums and tours regularly and acts on television; Cervenka fronts the band, the Original Sinners, as well as spoken word performances; Zoom works as an album producer for other bands, and designs his own line of amps and guitars; while Bonebrake works with the Bonebrake Syncopators and Orchestra Superstring.

The opening act for X was the Detroit Cobras. The Cobras, fronted by singer Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez, provided an energetic opening for the headliners. The word for the night was fun as the members of X spent a good deal of time watching the opening act from the sides of the stage, with Zoom flirting with guitarist Ramirez and coming out on stage to wrestle with her. The Cobras returned the favor by dancing on stage during the last third of X's set.

On this tour, X has donated sets of tickets to the non-profit Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to provide assistance to all types of career musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems.