John Doe
Maxwell’s
July 30, 2007
Click for Full Photolog of the show on Flickr!

One thing I’m starting to notice is that although many of my favorite rockers are getting pretty damn old, most of them still know how to rock. X frontman John Doe is no exception. This past Monday night, the punker turner actor turned icon churned out a bitchin’ set in front of a few dozen diehard fans in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Dead Rock West started off the night with a mix of country rock/folk ditties that recalled Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. The band’s female singer and male guitarist traded of vocals while crunching out half an hour of twangy, catchy numbers. Oddly enough, DRW closed their set with a rousing version of X’s classic “Burning House of Love.” Strange, yet kind of cool.

John Doe took stage a few minutes past ten and proceeded to hammer out a solid set of rocking tunes, bypassing his usual folk fare for his more wilder numbers. Doe covered the spectrum of songs from his solo career, concentrating mostly on his recent Yep Roc albums. A short set of folky tunes was countered with a ton of feedback and wild guitar riffage. The obligatory X tunes were played including “White Girl” and “New World.” “We’re not afraid to play X songs,” Doe told the crowd. “But we’re not going to play too many, cause that’s kind of lame.”

Doe’s backing band consisted of three quarters of Dead Rock West and one kickass guitar/keyboard player. The group stomped around the tiny stage, stirring up the crowd of middle-age rock fans. An hour and a half later, Doe and company closed with a tremendous cover of the Stone’s classic “Give Me Shelter.” The entire crew took the stage singing back up, and looked like they were having a blast. Sure, Doe’s getting older and his fans aren’t faring too will either, but the man can still rock and that’s all that really matters.

Click for Full Photolog of the show on Flickr!