X at Water Street Music Hall on Thursday September 26, 2024 in Rochester, New York

Besides the Clash, X was one of the only punk bands I was aware of that used elements of other musical genres to define its own sound. It made the group interesting and made them among the most influential bands of their era. X was long lived too having been established 47 years ago. Miraculously, all four members of the band were still together as they brought their farewell tour to a packed house in Rochester, New York.

Acoustic duo Dead Rock West opened the show. The pair consisting of guitarist / vocalist Frank Lee Drennen and vocalist Cindy Wasserman channeled their inner Lindsey and Stevie with lovely harmonies. The band paid homage to groups such as the Everly Brothers providing a laid-back yet energetic sound that kicked things off right.

 X didn’t hit the stage as much as just blend into it. Vocalist and bassist John Doe was out early with the stage hands and guitarist Billy Zoom was chatting with members of the audience and taking pictures prior to the first note. The band sounded fantastic. Its set was a mix of new material and classics such as “Hungry Wolf.” Their performance was tight and in particular drummer DJ Bonebrake was ageless all night long. It was amazing to see younger members of the audience semi-slam dancing in a semi-mosh pit to the music of folks that are old enough to be their grandparents. The majority of the crowd, mostly made up of older punks was engaged and appreciative of the moment.

Towards the end of the night, X did three encore songs including a tremendous acoustic version of “See How We Are” with Exene and John simply pouring their hearts into the stripped down space. “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts” was jazzed up bringing out DJ on vibraphone and Billy on saxophone. These songs were highlights as was “White Girl” one of the tunes earlier on. That song was from an album called “Wild Gift.” And that’s what this show felt like.

By Roman Jones. Photo credit: Roman Jones