Dave and Phil tore it up in the burgh last night.
Music review: Alvin Brothers blast off at Club Cafe
March 13, 2015 11:10 AM

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Scott Mervis/Post-Gazette
Dave and Phil Alvin perform at Club Cafe Thursday night.

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By Scott Mervis / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
If there was smoke coming out of the doors of Club Cafe Thursday night, that's because there was some blasting going on inside.

One of rock 'n' roll's great unsung brother pairs, Dave and Phil Alvin, have been estranged, at least musically, since Dave left the Blasters in 1986. That's a lot of lost years. They're making up for it now.

More than ever we need bands like the Blasters that play rock 'n' roll the way that the Big Joe Turners and Big Bill Broonzys dreamed it up. This wasn't the Blasters, but it was as good or better, with members of Dave's band, The Guilty Ones (drummer Lisa Pankratz and husband/bassist Brad Fordham), plus Portland, Ore., guitar-slinger and ringer Chris Miller.

"My brother Phil," Dave said Thursday night, "was born with that magnificent voice that he has. And I ... was born." That's a partial truth. When Phil opens his mouth, something ancient comes out -- well beyond his 62 years. It's been like that since he was a young man. His trembling tenor taps into some spiritual realm beyond our reckoning, and despite his near-death experience two years ago and the way he stands almost stone-like, eyes closed, it's lost none of its magnificence.

Dave, however, sells himself way too short. He's a blues cowboy with a warm, rugged baritone, and any list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" without his name on it is just wrong. He's evolved into one of the most formidable blues-rock guitarists on the circuit, with a, well, magnificent tone to go with the fire, speed, precision and soul. Like Phil said, he's "a triple threat," as a lyricist, as well. Like Dave said, "I still can't believe my big brother allowed me to put words in his mouth."

But this was only partly about them. The reunion centers around last year's labor of love "Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play & Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy," described by Dave as "our Grammy-nominated-not-good-enough-to-win new album." The brothers take those songs -- "All By Myself," "Key to the Highway," "The Stuff They Call Money," "How You Want It Done?" -- and Alvin-ize them with a hint of that LA punk scene fury.

Dave promised "relentless boogie woogie" on "Truckin' Little Woman" and, sure enough, it went 90 miles an hour, with Miller tearing through a solo that seemed like it couldn't be topped -- until Dave went ahead and scorched the place. "Southern Flood Blues" came with a Southern jam as sweet as Allmans.

Phil, more than a singer, pitched in on acoustic guitar and took everything up a notch on harmonica.

Dave brought along some solo standouts, including the noir Western "Johnny Ace is Dead" and "Out of Control," a talk-sung "existentialist blues" that unfolded like a seedy road film. "What's Up With Your Brother?" was poignantly funny, relaying how the Alvins have managed to live in each other's shadows all these years.

That's because fans want Blasters songs, for goodness sakes, and we got those, too. In vintage form. Being five feet away from them playing the hell out of "Border Radio," "Trouble Bound," "One Bad Stud" and the ultimate, "Marie Marie," was an indescribable thrill. After a show-stopping jam that went from The Doors' "Break On Through" to "So Long Baby Goodbye," people were walking toward the door, hardcore music fans, saying "one of the best concerts I've ever seen."

I've gotta be up there.

Scott Mervis: smervis@post-gazette.com; 412-263-2576. Twitter: @scottmervis_pg.

SET LIST:

All by Myself

I Feel So Good

Key to the Highway

You've Changed

How You Want It Done?

Southern Flood Blues

Border Radio

Out of Control

Stuff They Call Money

Truckin' Little Woman

What's Up With Your Brother?

Trouble Bound

Dry River

One Bad Stud

Encore

Saturday Night Rub

Johnny Ace Is Dead

Marie Marie

Closing Jam: Break on Through/So Long Baby Goodbye