[Los
Angeles CA] I gave Music&Ducks four potential venues – he chose this one
and then I when I went to refresh my memory as to who was playing, I was awful
sad because I don’t even count myself a fan of The Blasters and my beloved
Coathangers were playing at Dante’s (with Death Valley Girls … and The Go I see
today wah)... I, though, am in no position to look someone-who-will-attend-shows-with-me
in the mouth. Plus I saw them with Rockboy (a big fan) nearly ten years ago (wow),
reluctantly, but liked them a lot. Music&Ducks is a huge Blasters fan but
kept warning me they’re old. I was nonplussed until I saw the frailty of the
lead singer, Phil Alvin … and the huge voice that frail body has to withstand. Withstand
it did. Music&Ducks pointed out how his “grinch” hand was essentially
frozen in the strumming shape. They weren’t all that rockabilly – just like
super-tight solid rock n’ roll – reminded me of The Living End in that way. I
enjoyed the guitarists the most – one was a post-middle-age proper-rockabilly
dandy and the other, Pete Townshend with more tousled hair. “Pete” (AKA Keith
Wyatt in real life – replaced Phil’s brother Dave per Music&Ducks)
regularly made stuff epic – guitar solos – wide leg stance. The bassist was no
slouch either – a pleasantly upright-I’m-your-daddy-rocker-counterpart to Pete.
Both of them were manhandling their guitars as if they’ve had one in their
hands for 50 years… because they have. The crowd, and we, loved “I’m Shakin’” a
cover, Music&Ducks reports, of a song by Little Willie John also covered by
Jack White. The crowd was diverse, mostly in terms of age and race – but probably
because of the first band … Portland may have gotten a mark for spawning a band
like Roselit Bone but it lost a mark for not attracting a punk crowd for a band
like The Blasters like the-forever-winner-Austin would have.
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