X, Masonic Temple, Detroit, July 16, 2024
Your phone's off the hook, but you're not
It was 8:59pm, the preshow music cut off, Link Wray’s “Rumble” slunk out of the PA, the sparkly backdrop lit up, three out of four members of X are onstage and then Exene came out and my whole being stood at attention, the teacher has arrived and it is time to pay respects. My eyes filled to the brim, automatic, no breath, no conscious thought. “Your phone’s off the hook” -- John Doe raises his arm in the air, like he’s surely done hundreds, thousands of times, it’s a rock gesture but it is also the only logical human response, “BUT YOU’RE NOT.”
Guitar riffs pour out. Billy Zoom is sitting down, sunglasses on, leaning back. He is 76, he has had some health issues. DJ Bonebrake is still the ever reliable metronome. “In This House I Call Home” and the house sound’s been adjusted to do John and Exene’s harmonies -- is it a harmony? It is one voice at this point -- justice. At least I can hear them better. It may be my ears as much as it is the PA. I always thought of them as my gateway drug that brought me into appreciating country music, which -- surprise! -- I did not when I was in my 20’s!
OUR WHOLE FUCKING LIFE IS A WRECK
I mean, for real.
