X, Rev. Horton Heat, Not in the Face - December 6, 2012 - TLA, Philadelphia, PA

My first small club concert was an all out psychobilly and punk blitz. The show opened with a huge Bikini at the show. Check out "Brass Tracks" in the video below. The second band of a three band bill was Reverend Horton Heat, another band from Texas who many consider to be the founders of rockabilly and psychobilly. The legendary band featured hits such as "Psychobilly Freakout," "It's Martini Time," and "Galaxy 500" (see below). Throughly entertaining with great stage acts (standing on upright bass, see pic below) and exciting solos from all members of the band.
surprise with Not In The Face, a Texas band who blew everyone away with their energy and swagger. I ended up purchasing their first album

X took a little while to hit the stage and when they did it was about 11:15. Despite the wait, X put on a great show and were exciting and fun. Before the show started, my dad and I were the first ones in the venue and we saw bassist/singer John Doe walk past us to get back stage. Later, during the Not In The Face set, X singer Exene Cervenka walked in front of us standing with her short frame and huge body guard next to her. When it came to the show, X didn't mess around. They rolled through the setlist, probably making up for lost time. All of the hits were played, too many to list here. The stage lights stopped working right before X was about to go on, so they had to use only white light for the show. Most may think that it took away from the performance but I thought it added to it. The white light with the empty black backdrop gave the show a real old school punk feel and matched the character of X. Each band member had their own stage presence and were in their own world. Guitarist Billy Zoom (seen above) was brilliant standing in a power stance for most of the show. The only thing moving were his fingers and his head. Never looking down at his guitar, he would scan the room with his eyes widening and eyebrows raised, sometimes staring at individuals in the crowd, and smirking an erie smile. To this day I don't know if it was a stage act or his real personality. As a whole, they were creepy and weird in the best possible way. It made them edgy and dangerous and you didn't know what they were going to do next. Yet, they remained calm and under control without missing a beat or note. All 3 acts combined to put on an A+ show. Not bad for my first small club concert. Once you see a show at a small venue with the band feet away from you it's hard to go back to the big areas.

Setlist:

Not In The Face:
1. Way To Go Baby
2. Damn Strait
3. Yuppie Monday
4. Downtown Girl
5. Walk
6. Brass Tracks

Reverend Horton Heat:
1.  Psychobilly Freakout
2.  400 Bucks
3.  Baddest of the Bad
4.  It's Martini Time
5.  Jimbo Song
6.  The Party in Your Head
7.  Galaxy 500
8.  Indigo Friends
9.  Drinkin' and Smokin' Cigarettes

10. Big Red Rocket of Love (Scott Churilla drum solo)

X:

1.  Your Phone's Off the Hook, But You're Not
2.  Sex and Dying in High Society
3.  Beyond and Back
4.  Poor Girl
5.  Some Other Time
6.  In This House That I Call Home
7.  We're Desperate
8.  The Have Nots
9.  I'm Coming Over
10. Sugarlight
11. Los Angeles
12. The World's a Mess, It's in My Kiss

13. The Unheard Music
14. The Hungry Wolf
15. Year 1
16. It's Who You Know
17. Breathless (Jerry Lee Lewis cover)
18. The New World
19. Nausea
20. Motel Room in My Bed
21. Johny Hit and Run Paulene
22. Soul Kitchen (The Doors cover)

Encore:
23. I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts (John & Exene acoustic)
24. The Once Over Twice
25. Blue Spark
26. Because I Do
27. Devil Doll