Metro Chicago

On October 18, 1987, the eve of Black Monday, a dark cloud of a far different kind was descending on Chicago—none other than L.A. punk outfit X. Nursing the wounds from the departure of founding guitarist, Billy Zoom, the rambunctious rockers were promoting their sixth album, a 35-minute tri-chord craze entitled See How We Are. The album introduced a more polished sound for the quartet, with refined post-production gloss shining through traces of their former ruthless grit. Orbiting around an unyielding core of skuzzy punk rock and brawny political jabs, the co-ed outfit drew from an array of genres—controlled musical brevity of The Ramones to candid lyrics nodding toward poet Charles Bukowski’s tragic realism—that made for an exhilarating set.