I feel pretty silly for missing the boat on X_X (pronounced “ex blank ex”), a short-lived Cleveland punk band led by guitarist John Morton of the Electric Eels—an equally warped prepunk combo that injected serious sonic damage into art-rock in the early 70s. But in my defense, X_X existed for a mere six months in 1978 and released just two singles, both for the Clevo underground imprint Drome, which also released some great early material by the Pagans. The four-piece X_X lineup included Anton Fier (Golden Palominos, Feelies) on drums and guitarist Andrew Klimek (Red Dark Sweet) on guitar—and they occasionally employed power tools as instruments.
Morton has re-formed the band, prompted by the reissue, and the current version consists of Klimek, bassist Craig Bell (Rocket From the Tombs), and drummer Matt Harris. X_X makes a rare local appearance tomorrow night at the Empty Bottle. Also on the bill are Cleveland veterans Home and Garden, a great band whose members also played in Pere Ubu and Tripod Jimmy; its lineup now includes Tony Maimone, Tom Herman, Robert Wheeler, Scott Krauss, Keith Kornajcik, and Angel Mendoza, and its set will feature music by those related combos. Plastic Crimewave Syndicate opens the show.
