John Doe & Exene

John and Exene, who took the stage in simple, black-and-white outfits, looked a little bit like the Appalachian folkies who inspire their music. Although their romance ended nearly 25 years ago, the pair retains a certain chemistry and tenderness that comes through in their patient, funny onstage banter. And, before we get into the music, there’s something else you should know about John and Exene: Their fans — from 20-somethings to 50-year-old punks — adore them. Not a moment of silence could pass without someone yelling, “We love you, Exene!” or good-naturedly joking with John. As someone who’s devoted a lot of time to thinking about X — I just submitted a 33 1/3 proposal on Los Angeles — the performance was a chance to reflect on the way their music has evolved over the years. Although the road from punk to Americana seems long, the movements are tied together by the raucousness of rockabilly. And the space between the sex, drugs, and death that fueled LA punk and the sex-booze-death triumvirate that has driven American roots music for a century has never been that great. As it turns out, the California noir and Southern gothic aesthetics may just be kissin’ cousins. For much of the set, John’s acoustic guitar was the only instrument accompanying their voices, as they paged through a selection of each musician’s own compositions, a handful of covers, and a sprinkling of X classics. Throughout, John and Exene kept the audience engaged. John joked about his excitement to contribute a track (“The Losing Kind”) to a Samuel L. Jackson movie and the disappointment of discovering just how bad Black Snake Moan turned out to be. As Doe put it, “Even Christina Ricci running around in her underpants couldn’t save it.” And before performing the Carter Family standard “Poor Old Heartsick Me,” they told the story of their chance meeting with June Carter, who apparently told them, “If I never sing that song again, it’ll be too soon.” Of course, for an old X fan, the highlight of the evening was hearing two of my favorite old-school tunes, “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts” and “In This House That I Call Home.” During the second encore (that’s right, kids — both about to turn 53 and still gracing audiences with multiple encores), a few people shouted out, “Los Angeles!” “On an acoustic guitar? Really?” John shot back, without missing a beat. I knew he was right, but I couldn’t fault them for the request. Even on an acoustic guitar, I would’ve liked to hear it, too. - Tiny Mix Tapes

with:
Kid Congo Powers
(acoustic/spoken word)

@ Echoplex
Enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone text doe to 467467

8pm / advance seated: $25.00; advance standing $20; day of show seated $27.00, Day of show standing $23/ 18+