This last December, I saw my all time favorite band perform at Club Nokia. As a Christmas/Hanukah present to myself, I invited Lena, Steph, Perla, Marii, and Christine. (It was also a birthday present for Marii.)I first saw X in either 1981 or 1982, around the time that Wild Gift
came out. It was at the Roxy, which I still think is the best place to see them. It's also where I saw them in 2004, when all the original band members got together again.
(That reunion saw the return of Billy Zoom for the first time in 18 (?) years. While I love Tony Gilkyson and Dave Alvin, the band just isn't the same for me without Billy. Needless to say, the reunion show at the Roxy was once of the best shows I've ever seen.) A word about Club Nokia: It's a very new venue in downtown L.A. it definitely had that "new club smell". I think X was the first punk band to play there. Although it feels like a big venue, I liked the fact that you could get a really good view from the balcony. On the downside, at least for my companions, drinks started at $8 for a beer and there was a one drink max per visit. (Before they headed off on their own, I overheard Perla say to Steph, "Let's go find a lesbian".) On the plus side, there was a smoking balcony. One other negative that has hopefully been fixed. Like many of the newer and larger clubs, Nokia has big video display screens and a multi-camera set up, so you can see the show from where ever you are. However, the operator or operators at this show apparently were completely unfamiliar with their equipment and with basic techniques of live multi-camera. I don't know that this bothered anyone else. To a motion picture professional like myself, it was annoying and distracting.
Thankully, the band played such a great show that it was hard to be distacted, and frankly, I didn't want to put that much effort into it. They played a few X-mas songs, but mostly they played my old favorites. (Click here for the set list) Highlights for me were Los Angeles
, White Girl
, Johny Hit And Run Paulene
, We're Desperate
, and. . .and .. I could go on, but my referrer link finger is getting tired.
