You know those experiences in your life where you want to write them all down so you don’t forget a single moment of them? Yeah. This is one of those moments. Before I tell you anything else, the thing you need to know about me is that I never really do anything like this. When it comes to going out, I’m a homebody. I’d much rather stay at home and enjoy cat cuddles than do anything in the way of being around other people. On the other hand, I’m fairly obsessed with everything having to do with The X-Files – and that includes following the actors largely responsible for fostering my love, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.
In addition to putting out a book this year, Duchovny has also cut his very first record, Hell or Highwater. When I heard he’d be going on tour to promote the launch of the album, I decided to buy tickets to his show in NYC. It was a total impulse buy, of course, but it also meant refreshing the venue’s website exactly at noon when the tickets went on sale. I knew my fate was sealed – but in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
New York City is home to a ton of great venues, little gems tucked away on almost every street corner imaginable. The Cutting Room, on E 32nd St, is totally one of those hidden treasures. The facade is fairly unassuming, but it was outside this place where I waited in line until the doors opened. I made friendly conversation with a woman in front of me who had traveled all the way from Illinois to see the show, and I overheard die-hard X-Philes behind me asking each other if they’d listened to the album yet. It was a great mix of fans of all ages, people who had tracked David’s career from The X-Files to Californication to Holy Cow! and now this album. (And yes, there were definitely a fair amount of ladies.)
Once I got in, I had to pat myself on the back for having a quick trigger finger because the seats I managed to snag were pretty sick – and then settled in to wait. Like your typical rock star, David Duchovny wasn’t going to start on time, but when he finally took the stage, I had to remind myself of who was up there singing. The sound of Hell or Highwater is pretty unique – this folk/rock blend that lets Duchovny’s rumbling vocals intertwine with some killer guitar.
For this particular show he was backed by the band Weather, based out of Boston, who not only complimented Duchovny’s sound but enriched the experience overall. Most of the time it felt like the band could have just been having another jam session in the studio; the vibe on stage was that relaxed. Duchovs seemed a little nervous at first, but as the show went on you could obviously tell he was loosening up, and his voice only became stronger as a result.
Between the songs there was the occasional banter, the quippy commentary only David Duchovny can pull off, about everything from the solo guitarist performing in bare feet to his own experience performing for the offices of Google. When he left the stage and was called back for an encore, there was nothing to indicate that anything extraordinary would happen. Weather started playing the theme from The X-Files to bring him back on.
And then Gillian Anderson joined him on stage, and the two of them collectively broke everyone in that room.
They teased each other, fist-bumped, and gave each other affectionate pecks. They sung “Helpless” by Neil Young and “Thank You” by Sly & The Family Stone with the band and surprise guest Madeleine Martin, who played Duchovny’s daughter on Californication. Somewhere in my haze of feels, I managed to take some photos and video – much of it ending up on my various social media accounts. I glanced away for a second, and my notifications blew up. I didn’t cry like I had expected to, but I couldn’t get the goofy grin off my face for hours afterward. (And I’m writing this all down now because I don’t want to forget a single second of it.)
If anyone asks me why I care about these people, why I love The X-Files so much – I’m going to point them to this show. These are two friends who clearly care about each other and support one another in their endeavors, in all the other projects they have going on. Barring that, they’re just two people who like to get up on stage and jam out and have fun.
And boy, was it ever fun.
Carly Lane is a writer based in New York City who specializes in obscure pop culture references and miscellaneous geekery. Her work has been featured on HelloGiggles, Obvi We’re The Ladies, Femsplain and more. You can find her on Twitter at @equivocarly.
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