While visiting Portland in June, I had the supreme pleasure of seeing John Doe at a great joint called Dante’s, performing songs from his new album "A Year in the Wilderness" with Dead Rock West doing double duty as his erstwhile opening and backing band. When I lived in San Diego back in the early ‘80s, my friends and I saw "X" more times than I can remember. As far as I’m concerned they were by far the best punk band to come out of LA, and John Doe retains the group’s sense of musical purity in his solo work.
The show in Portland was the highlight of my time there, so if you get a chance to catch John Doe on tour this summer I highly recommend it, not the least because of Cindy Wasserman’s inspired backing vocals. You can check out the duo on You Tube at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2S-FEjeBMKQ
