It sure doesn’t seem like it would work. Adding roots rocker Dave Alvin to LA’s seminal punk band X seems an unlikely combination, but not only did it work the first time in 1985 but it’s still working. Of course, the recent output of X’s leaders John Doe and Exene Cervenka has shifted toward mellower singer/songwriter fare so it doesn’t seem quite as shocking these days. The strangest thing still is seeing Dave Alvin on stage and not hearing him sing. While his comforting baritone would have been an interesting addition to the male/female vocals, I guess they don’t actually need him, so perfect are their voices together. Better to let him break hearts with his stunning yet seemingly effortless guitar work.
Their set hit all the highlights of their two records ‘85’s Poor Little Critter in the Road and 2005’s The Modern Sound of the Knitters, both of which feature country standards as well as countrified versions of their own songs. X’s “Skin Deep Town” in particular benefits from the treatment. One of their best known songs is also their most ridiculous as Doe tells the tale of “The Call of the Wrecking Ball” who inexplicably goes around stomping on chickens, “Roosters and hens, and all their feathered friends, they know it’s time to fly when I come stompin' by.” The gratuitous violence is lightened by the silly nature of the song. Thankfully they chose not to play “The New Call of the Wrecking Ball” which finds him working in a slaughter house. The covers may be even better. Flatt & Scruggs “Give Me Flowers While I’m Living” sounds even more convincing sung by Cervenka. I’m not a fan of their version of the Stanley Brothers “Rank Stranger,” but it was a good time for a bathroom break.
The sharp dressed Doe alternated lead vocals with the quirky Cervenka, who was wearing what looked like a dress she’d made herself, but didn’t quite have time to finish. Even though she had played guitar for the two sets I’d seen her play at SXSW, she left that to more than capable hands tonight. The stoically silent Alvin sported his usual kerchief which I am almost convinced is there to keep his head on since I’ve seldom seen him without it. Super coo, drummer DJ Bonebreak used his minimal kit to keep the locomotive beat going, while upright bass player Jonny Ray Bartel (of blues rock band the Red Devils) held down the low end.
With all the songwriting talent on stage, it would have seemed that two of Madison’s best songwriters would have been the perfect openers. In practice, it turned out that without a band Blake Thomas and Josh Harty were just background noise for most of the crowd. Too bad, Thomas has been writing new songs at a rate not seen since the flurry of writing that led to his terrific Flatlands in 2008. Those songs still figure heavily into every set he plays, the ridiculously catchy “How Long” and the pacifist “World of War” are still as poignant as the first time I heard them. Neither of them had seen the Knitters before but by the end of the night they both had a crush on Dave Alvin’s guitar playing. I can’t say that I blame them.
Blake Thomas & Josh Harty
The Knitters
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