Movie/DVD Review

Sometimes a reunion can be an embarrassing thing. But X acquit themselves most admirably on the appropriately-titled Live In Los Angeles, taped November 26 and 27, 2004 in the city where the punk legends first burst into raucous life. With no more set decoration than a curtain with a large “X” projected on it, the four piece outfit gets right down to business and punches out a tight, 21 song set as if they were still scrappy kids playing LA’s underground punk club the Masque.

All the expected classics are present and accounted for: “White Girl,” “We’re Desperate,” “Los Angeles,” “Johny Hit and Run Pauline,” and the faster numbers do come off the best. Billy Zoom whips wicked riffs out of his guitar while standing still and flashing a big grin, contrasted with bassist John Doe, who throws himself around the stage when he’s not singing, sweat dripping down his face. His partner in vocal crime, Exene Cervenka, is as compelling a lead singer as ever, and drummer DJ Bonebrake doesn’t let the pace flag once. The crowd is equally excited, if pogoing a little slower these days (“No skydivers!” Cervenka implores at one point).

Unlike some modern concert films, Live In Los Angeles doesn’t rely on rapid-fire editing, which means you get a better sense of what the show was actually like. The audio mix is excellent, perhaps because it was handled by Zoom himself. There are two interview sequences before the concert, and before the final encore, which have enough interesting nuggets to make you wish a longer interview sequence had been included as a bonus feature (bonux features that are present include Zoom’s photo gallery and two acoustic duets by Cervenka and Doe). And by the time the final encore, an idiosyncratic cover of the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen,” comes around, the group’s infectious energy and obvious joy in what they’re doing will have won you over.