Concert Review: X, Rollins Band, Riverboat Gamblers

by Todd Maternowski

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When the Ramones took their raw and unpolished sound to the stage in the mid-70s, there was no way they could have foreseen the diverse array of musical styles they were unwittingly engendering. With some cheap instruments, hefty vocal chords and a working amp anyone could be in a band, whether they had any musical ability. This revolutionary punk mentality changed the face of rock, influencing countless bands to invent and re-invent the "punk" sound to suit their talents (or lack thereof). Three distinct flavors of punk were on display Tuesday night at the Gypsy Tea Room, where the Riverboat Gamblers led the way for punk legends, the Rollins Band and X.

Opening the evening, Denton's own Riverboat Gamblers have been picking up steam on the national stage, despite a few setbacks, and deservedly so: the sound of their new album, To the Confusion of Our Enemies, is tight, fresh and brimming with the youthful energy that defines great punk bands. Although some may find the Gamblers' sound too "pop-ish" to be true punk, the songs are very catchy and well-crafted, particularly "The Biz Love Sluts" and opening track "True Crime." It's their live show that has national media spinning, however: lead singer Mike Wiebe is making a name for himself in venues and hospitals across the country with his showmanship (most punk bands destroy the stage, Wiebe prefers it the other way around). That said, their opening set at the Gypsy Tea Room was a little disappointing. The music was everything you could hope for: the triple guitar attack was tighter than the Blue Angels' formation and just as loud. But Wiebe's madcap hijinks were more distracting than disturbing - perhaps disappointing his hardcore fans who expected more, as no one had to be carted off on a stretcher or tended to with a band-aid. This is probably attributable to the presence of his parents in the audience for the first time. Any performer will tell you there is no more terrifying audience than one's parents. Still, there are few less decisively "punk" things than asking the crowd to be loud so you can get a 60-gig iPod for Christmas. A little nervousness, though, is not going to hurt a band primed for bigger things like the Riverboat Gamblers, who are just a record contract away from being the biggest thing out of Denton since Joe Don Baker.

An off-night is one thing, but the next act Rollins Band had an entire decade's worth of dust to shake off and, unfortunately, it really sounded like it. Led by the iconic Henry Rollins, the Rollins Band (and its predecessor Black Flag) was at the forefront of the punk experiment in the 80s and early 90s, mixing a potent brew of punk mentality with metal and jazz fusion. Even today Rollins is trying to emulate the style of his hero Miles Davis, trying to re-invent himself lest he becomes stale and predictable. The band has stated publicly that the point of this tour was to reunite in an attempt to rekindle their musical chops, play some greatest hits and just see what happens from there. Merge that jazz-metal musical sensibility with frontman Henry Rollins's often brilliant/hilarious/provocative spoken word performances and the result should be another giant leap forward for punk.

That day still might come, but the Rollins revolution was not happening Tuesday night. The band is famous for its jazz sensibilities, yet the set was one long indecipherable wall of sound that seemed to plant the crowd firmly into shoegaze mode. That in itself would've been fine, as Rollins can single-handedly dominate a show with his humor and forceful onstage performance. Unfortunately, the tattooed tornado spent less than 45 seconds of the entire set in spoken-word format, and spent the rest in an awkwardly entertaining combo of intense facial grimaces and muscular spasms. Even noted bassist Melvin Gibbs seemed bored, although both the band and the crowd came to life at the end when they played the hit single "Liar." Here's hoping the Rollins Band steers away from amped-up noise and gets back to being the cutting-edge of hardcore punk they once were.

The headliner was the X band, one of the original punk bands from the mid-1970s. Not surprisingly, once X took the stage the median age of the crowd seemed to jump drastically; it has been nearly 30 years since the band started wowing audiences and winning critical acclaim. Clearly, X was the most melodic of the evening's bill, fusing elements of bubblegum punk with a hint of rockabilly and even a little bit of country. Like her early punk contemporary Deborah Harry, lead singer Exene Cervenka definitely fills the role of punk diva with her charming onstage wave-dancing and stripped-down vocals; and it seemed you would need a crowbar to pry the smile off of guitarist Billy Zoom's face. As advertised, X was the most polished of the three bands, and puts on a terrific live show.