Exene Cervenka belts out a tune as X entertains the crowd at the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival in Napa, Calif. on Thursday, May 9, 2013.
X is calling it quits to life on the road.
The legendary Los Angeles punk rock act has announced plans for one last big tour, which is set to touch down at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park for two nights, Aug. 19-20. Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets are $43, guildtheatre.com.
Will this be your last chance to see one of the most iconic punk bands of all time perform in the Bay Area? It’s hard to say, given that this trek is set to last into 2025 and it’s certainly conceivable that more local dates could be added. Plus, the band is only saying goodbye to the touring life — not to performing in general — and reportedly will be open to doing one-offs and gigs down the road.
Yet, really, why take the chance that you could miss the final X dates in the Bay Area? Go and rock out with this tremendous act, which remains best known for “Los Angeles” — its 1980 debut that is widely considered to be one of the best punk albums of all time.
Having just seen the band in late 2023, we can say that X still sounds great in concert. Plus, the group still features all of original members — vocalist Exene Cervenka, guitarist Billy Zoom, vocalist-bassist John Doe and drummer DJ Bonebrake — which is a real rarity for an act that has been around as long as X.
The group is supporting the newly released “Smoke & Fiction,” which is said to be the final X studio album.
Originally published at Jim Harrington