JOHN DOE LIVE AT THE JOSHUA RETREAT CENTER

By Eleni P. Austin

Back in 1980, if someone had told me that John Doe (then the front-man, along with his musical soulmate, Exene Cervenka, of the seminal L.A. Punk band X), would be crooning Burt Bacharach’s sultry Bossa Nova, “The Look Of Love,” AND, I would be swooning with delight, I probably would have socked them in the face. At that time, I couldn’t even entertain or imagine that sort of Punk Rock heresy.

But there I was, Saturday night at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, swooning as he was crooning to a song that felt passe and corny to 17-year-old Eleni, but now makes me nostalgic to my Swingin’ ‘60s, Hollywood childhood. That’s a testament to the power of John Doe, whose beautiful and soulful voice, immediately transcended the confines of Punk Rock.

Except for a brief hiatus, X has reigned supreme in the Los Angeles Punk scene for close to 50 years. But in 2024, with the release of their ninth studio effort, Smoke & Fiction, the band announced that they would soon be putting touring in the review. That promise became a reality late last year, when they played a final show with hometown compadres Los Lobos.

Luckily, John launched a solo career in 1990 that has run concurrently with his X commitments. In the last 35 years, he has released 11 solo albums and collaborated with Exene, Jill Sobule (R.I.P.), The Sadies and Micah Nelson (a.k.a. The Particle Kid). A few years ago, he formed The John Doe Folk Trio with bassist Kevin Smith (Willie Nelson) and drummer Conrad Choucroun (NRBQ). A new album should arrive later this year. But Saturday night it was John alone on stage.

Following a brief, but potent opening set from Desert legend Sean Wheeler and Kevin Pittman, John took the stage to thunderous applause from a packed house. He kicked things into gear with a propulsive take of “Get On Board,” the opening cut from his 2016 album, Westerner.

Armed with only an acoustic guitar and a vintage mic, John hopscotched across a half-century of music, in just under 20 songs. There was plenty o’ X favorites, including an incendiary “Burning House Of Love” which was anchored by a Cash-tastic, boom-chicka-boom rhythm and a scorching solo. A rippling “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts” retained a measure of urgency as 42 year-old lyrics like “When it comes from murder of innocent men, innocent women, innocent children, thousands of ‘em, my planes, my guns, my money my soldiers, my blood on my hands, it’s all my fault,” felt particularly germane to the times we’re living. On “Poor Little Girl,” he continues to unravel the mysteries of an elusive femme fatale.

Long ago, X and John Doe began pushing the boundaries of Punk and by incorporating their earliest influences into their sui generis sound. He sprinkled a few touchstones throughout the set, beginning with Merle Haggard’s “Are The Good Times Really Over,” a churlish lament steeped in disappointment and regret. He offered up a rollicking rendition of the old Cowboy saga, “Tie A Knot In The Devil’s Tail,” which he first learned as an eight-year-old kid. Switching gears, he acquitted himself beautifully on “Cancion Mixteca.” He originally learned the 100-year-old Mexican Folk song in phonetic Spanish, from the late actor, Harry Dean Stanton, Finally, he stunned a room full of AARP Punkers with a poignant version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”

Naturally, the majority of the set was given over to his solo oeuvre (yeah, I said oeuvre). Both “El Romance-O” and “Sweetheart,” were from his most recent album, Fables In A Foreign Land. The former is a South Of The Border charmer concerning a louche lothario who has an aversion to the truth. His deceptions are stacked cantado en Espanol and Ingles: “Yo hablo el Verdad mi palabra es tu Libertad, y puerdo ser tu, major amigo yadie, nadie saba porque y tampoco a donde fue porque es un mentiroso.” John’s cheerful bonhomie almost undercut the lyrical perfidies. On the latter, loping guitar riffs anchored his courtly croon as he offered tender pledge to a paramour freshly out of jail.

John introduced the dissonant “Handsome Devil,” from the Keeper record, as the consequence of allowing a fast-talking interloper into your house. The implication being a certain White House. Meanwhile, he dipped back to the early aughts for “Golden State.” Despite the sunny melody and ringing guitar, acerbic lyrics chronicle a skewed encomium to true love: “You are the hole in my head, I am the pain in my neck, you are the lump in my throat, I am the aching in your heart.”

John’s set was perfect front-to-back. But noteworthy moments included his aching rendition of “The Look Of Love.” By stripping away the Bacharach-esque ornate embellishments, the song was equal parts rough-hewn and seductive. He also painted a suitably hangdog portrait of yearning with the Nilsson/Fred Neil hit, “Everybody’s Talkin,’” replete with the wordless, high lonesome coda.

Two latter-day X songs also stood out from the pack. Although the title-track from the 1987 album “See How We Are” is close to 40 years old, the stark reportage of “Now there’s seven kinds of Coke, 500 kinds of cigarettes, this freedom of choice in the U.S.A. drives everyone crazy, but down in Acapulco, well, they don’t give a damn about kids selling chiclets with no shoes on their feet,” seems to resonate in the now.

The anthemic “New World” closed the set. Another cutting commentary of 1980s malaise that, sadly, feels especially contemporary. The crowd joined John on the shout-it-out chorus: “It was better before, before they voted for what’s-his-name, this was supposed to be the new world, it was better before they voted for what’s-his-name, this was supposed to be the new world.” Tellingly, he folded in a snippet of The Beatles’ “Revolution,” which felt wildly apropos on a day when No Kings protests numbered eight million strong around the world.

Returning for an encore, John ran through a a bittersweet “4^th Of July,” which turned into a crowd sing-a-long. Then Kevin Pittman joined him on electric guitar for “The Call Of The Wrecking Ball,” A Rockabilly Rave-Up originally recorded by X’s mid-‘80s side project, The Knitters. It was a raucous finish to a fantastic show.

A lot of the appeal of this show lies with the venue. Some joints pack you in like chattel, cheek to jowl. Adding insult to injury, you’re stuck standing for an hour or more, waiting for a headliner to start their set at 10pm. Thankfully, The Retreat Center has presented shows outside and inside. This one was in the Sanctuary. There were options to sit or stand, with diehard Doe fans ringing the stage, and the sound was uniformly excellent. Promoted by Sister Midnight and produced by Robyn Celia and Linda Krantz (if you know, you know), it was a flawless musical experience.