Exene marks the spot: Singer's still a "hungry wolf."

More than most bands, one of X's most endearing qualities has been the chemistry between the personalities of its original line-up: singer Exene Cervenka, singer-bassist John Doe, drummer D.J. Bonebrake and guitarist Billy Zoom. Admittedly, the most critical, defining ingredients of X are Doe and Cervenka's songwriting and vocal collaborations, but something definitely felt lost after Zoom's departure from the group around 1986. So Saturday's "31st Anniversary" appearance featuring all four reunited original members was a particular treat for X fans.

The performance was tireless and musically on-target, and if anything, the longer they played throughout the night, the more intense and focused they became. Three decades out, Cervenka and Doe's vocals showed some signs of age, but that wasn't any sort of handicap. The duo's uniquely wild, beautiful vocal harmony dynamics have always been more about urgency and gut feeling than formal music convention or polish, and these performances were wonderfully passionate and driven. Zoom's hot guitar work bristled with raw personality, contrasted with his quirky stage shtick of smile-for-the-camera postured artifice. Bonebrake's drumming was wonderfully animated and thundering. The quartet preserved the spirit and rage that earned X its initial respected status, and songs like "Hungry Wolf" and "Nausea" were packed with invigorating, brutal punches. Beginning with "Your Phone's off the Hook, But You're Not," the concert was a respectable retrospective of the band's most definitive songs, primarily from the most acclaimed first four albums. In fact, nearly the entire Los Angeles debut album got live treatment. The biggest audience favorite was "Johny Hit and Run Pauline," which incited a minor mosh pit among an otherwise fairly placid but affectionately attentive crowd. Although it was a reasonably extensive, satisfying 75-minute set, a few quintessential X songs like "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" disappointingly didn't make the set list.

Bad-girl rockers Detroit Cobras were a well-paired opening act. The band's sustained energy and Rachel Nagy's sharp, soulful, powerful vocals took ownership of the obscure early rock cover tunes that constitute the band's repertoire.

The Mars Volta
House of Blues, Wednesday, May 14

The crashing dissolution of At the Drive-In inspired lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez to discover a new species of music in the form of the Mars Volta in 2001 and thus elude all normal categories. Too complex to be labeled as mere prog rock, the rebellious spirit of the Mars Volta hasn't stopped evolving from its fragmented roots in pop, metal, psycho jazz, psychedelic rock and Latin fusion. After the eight members of the band crammed together on stage gracefully in a moment of calmness, the band broke into a super-hyperspeed rage with "Roulette Dares (The Haunt of)," expertly chosen from 2003's breakthrough De-Loused in the Comatorium. Bixler-Zavala became the Marquis de Sound when he hit all of the glass-breaking high notes as the band spiral-jettied with strobe-light precision and staccato percussion. It was fucking fireworks. Bixler-Zavala fell into perfect James Brown splits in between his whirling dervish dance moves as he shimmied in his skinny jeans along the miniscule amount of free space allotted to him on the small stage. The high-voltage energy sparked from the 20-minute piece ignited the souls of the audience members. A mighty mosh pit erupted, eager to swallow the center of the floor. It was a true symposium for the senses, and that was just the beginning.

Rodriguez-Lopez pushed his guitar to the outer limits during "Goliath." The funkadelic masterpiece off the latest album The Bedlam in Goliath gave him an opportunity to go neck-to-stick with drummer Thomas Pridgen. Between the pulsating lights, expert musicianship and Bixler-Zavala's mind-blowing vocals, absolute pandemonium broke out, as the crowd was dosed with all the extraordinary ingredients for a sensory-overload seizure. With galactic rock-arena magnitude, the band guided fans through the porthole with "Viscera Eyes," "Tetragrammaton" and "Ouroborous." Bixler-Zavala kidded during the solid 140-minute set, "Are you even awake now?" This was an illuminating experience that could have created a thriving cult after the band gave proof that life is definitely more interesting on Mars. — Shelly Greenberg

Akron/Family
Grog Shop, Thursday, May 15

The cosmic balladry of Akron/Family's self-titled 2005 debut was unquestionably a reason why you'd want to bring your lady friend down to the Grog Shop to hold hands and sway to the slow strums. And even through the group's current bursts of spiritual/tribal/free-jazz jaunting on the subsequent Meek Warrior and last year's Love Is Simple, there was still that folk sound that the Cat Power lifer could use as a reason to experience a soft night of sing-alongs. The heady directions found the Brooklyn trio still retaining a folk aesthetic at its base. But the maddening swirls of percussion-filled, electronics-tinged, blazing guitar war whoops have only increased, making the group unpredictable, both in general as well as last Thursday night. Quite anomalous in the current wave of "New Weird America" trends even at their most conservative, their continuing experimental leanings have them blending musical genres, and not in the usual way of amalgamation. The disparate musical styles that influence them are largely kept separate, and yet still maintaining streams of a specific consciousness in every style played.

I only caught a couple of recognizable tunes from their catalogue, as they had propensity to shift from hazy folk to screaming fuzz blasts to white-hot electric guitar wah-wah's that would make any Japanese psych fan's jaw drop. Depending on the energy, it appeared they made changes and extensions to the pieces and the pace of the show at will, creating a relaxed, free-flowing aura and showcasing their willingness to just play for the moment. It's impressive enough to perform as they do while still maintaining a conventional pop structure (in the loosest terms possible). But one of the most distinguishing characteristics about Akron/Family is its unfathomable tightness as a band. Their capacity for precision musicianship, communication, and just being a bunch of fun dudes in general are also central to the way they play.

Another great act that evening was guitar instrumentalist Nick Schillace, whose raga-style tunes dusted the chalk lines between an early starry-eyed Fahey style and the barefoot-in-the-weeds sunshine rollicks of solo Doug Martsch. Good Morning Valentine started the evening off with a set that the vocalist surprisingly thought of as "professional." — David Imburgia

Kid Rock
Quicken Loans Arena, Saturday, May 17

Kid Rock's Rock 'n' Roll Revival tour took over the Q on Saturday, and rednecks came from as far as Kentucky to witness the debauchery. Kid Rock brought Rev Run of Run DMC and Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band along with him, but in an unusual move, didn't use them as openers. Instead, he ran the show as a three-hour-long revue and brought them out to do solo and duet numbers with him periodically throughout the night. It was a formula that worked well, and it was amazing to see the stamina Kid Rock must possess to do such a show each night. Opening with "Rock 'n' Roll Jesus," the first single off his latest album, Kid Rock had the crowd on its feet immediately. Clad in a white suit and trademark cowboy hat, Rock sauntered and posed like a true showman. After two songs, Peter Wolf came out and did a solo song, "Love Stinks," and smashed a bouquet of roses onstage.

Rock returned in a glittery jumpsuit and busted out some old favorites, many of which were turned into medleys. An unexpected pairing was "Cocky" with "Sweet Home Alabama" that actually worked surprisingly well. Rev Run hit the stage to do a series of duets with Kid Rock of old-school Run DMC material, most notably the crowd-pleaser "Walk This Way." After a brief intermission, Kid Rock treated us to some of his more country-style tunes such as "Amen" and "Only God Knows Why" that had the whole crowd singing along. By this time, the fans were all drunk and rowdy and actually bonding as they cheered their beers and slapped each other high fives at Kid Rock's request. Rock possessed an endless energy, dancing non-stop and often crisscrossing the stage in a full-on run. He owned the stage and kept the crowd in the palm of his hand the whole night. His vocals were tight and his between-song banter was genuine, not bombastic and self-laudatory. The only sour note was the lack of an encore, which left the fans wanting more. — Lois Elswick

Honda Civic Tour
Time Warner Cable Amphitheater, Friday, May 16

The latest incarnation of the Honda Civic Tour rolled through Cleveland last Friday with Panic At The Disco at the helm. Those who came to see over the top Victorian circus performers were sadly disappointed; instead, Panic At The Disco has turned itself into a watered-down version of the Beatles. The songs off its new album Pretty.Odd were mixed in with older material with dismal results. One minute, the crowd was enthused, the next, not so much. It was obvious the older tunes were the crowd faves and the newer songs sounded so different that they didn't mix well together. The bowl haircuts, the flowers on the mic stand and the psychedelic themes were a bit overdone and came off more like a direct rip-off than an homage to the Beatles. That's not to say Panic At The Disco didn't sound good. On the contrary, they sounded great. Vocalist Brendon Urie hit each note with sweet precision and, for the most part, the songs retained their studio qualities, which is rare. Highlights included "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" and "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off," both older tracks that had the crowd in a frenzy.

Phantom Planet opened the evening with an energetic set then actually stayed to sign autographs and take pictures with fans for the rest of the night. Chicago's The Hush Sound was up next and treated the crowd to campy danceable beats that got all the kiddies on their feet and dancing. Motion City Soundtrack then took the stage and gave the fans what they came to see: a tightly played set filled with fan favorites. Definitely the hardest band on the bill, Motion City Soundtrack punched things up a bit with their catchy riffs and effervescent frontman. — LE