The last time The Knitters came through town, they were supporting The Modern Sounds of the Knitters, their first album in twenty years and the follow-up to the 1985 album Poor Little Critter in the Road. Both albums followed the same template with a hodge-podge of reworked X songs, some wacky originals and a slew of cover songs that show their influences. Much more overtly rootsy and country-influenced than X, they serve as an outlet for JOHN DOE and EXENE CERVENKA’s rootsier aspirations.
The show was very similar to their last appearance here, the major difference being that this one had them playing in a much more size-appropriate venue and in much more comfortable circumstances. Back in 2005, they played a late show at an at-best quarter-full Trocadero on a sweltering August day. Oh and did I mention that the venue’s air-conditioning system was broken that night, too? It made for less-than-ideal circumstances, but The Knitters made the best of it, playing a terrific set where the highlight was unquestionably their great version of LEADBELLY’s “Rock Island Line”. On this evening, however, we didn’t get “Rock Island Line”, but we did get their version of “Born to Be Wild”. We also got some X songs such as “In This House that I Call Home.” “The New World” and “Skin Deep Town”. As for songs that only appeared on Knitters records, we also got not just one but two versions of “Poor Little Critter in the Road” and “Try Anymore (We Don’t Even)”, a song credited just to John Doe but which really started as a collaboration between him and ELVIS COSTELLO in the mid ‘80s. It had been sitting in the vaults for twenty years before The Knitters recorded it for their last album.
Other highlights included “Give Me Flowers While I’m Living,” “Long Chain On” and “The New Call of The Wreckin’ Ball”, a new version of “Call of the Wreckin’ Ball” from Poor Little Critter in the Road. Though John and Exene are the stars of the show, DAVE ALVIN’s incredible rockabilly-influenced guitar playing was another highlight as fans cheered after every amazing solo. The show concluded with X’s “Burning House of Love” and the previously mentioned versions of “Born to Be Wild” and “Poor Little Critter in the Road’, bringing the evening to a satisfying close.
Openers CHATHAM COUNTY LINE, a North Carolina-based band on the great Yep Roc label, played a completely unamplified (except the fact that the band was all huddled around one microphone like old folkie outfits) set of traditional roots music that at first was merely pleasant but which grew on me as their set wore on. The closest comparison I could give would be ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS, a Texas outfit who play similar styles of music completely unamplified, though unfortunately they’re nowhere near as much fun. On this night, however, this was OK as they did a nice job of warming up the crowd for The Knitters.
