You could see all of the 31 years since they formed in the lines on their faces, and the near sell-out crowd wasn’t full of any spring chickens either. But L.A.’s most revered punk band sounded as agile and fierce as ever last night at the Cabooze, and the audience responded rabidly. Saturday’s 90-minute set — part of X’s “31-13″ tour (31 years, 13 cities) — even seemed more energetic and raucous than their gig at First Ave back in 2003.

The setlist leaned heavily on the first four albums, including the openers “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not” and “We’re Having Much More Fun.” Some of the best stuff came mid-show: “Unheard Music,” “The Hungry Wolf” and especially “The New World.” Billy Zoom’s punkabilly guitar genius was really on a roll with “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline,” which hit home why Brian Setzer was watching as a fan from a reserved table on the Cabooze’s little balcony. They ended with (the Doors’) “Soul Kitchen” and then absolutely tore through two encores with “White Girl,” “Because I Do” and “Devil Doll.” 

Did you make the show? Leave your own impressions here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm and is filed under Concerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.