The Blasters; Robert Gordon @ The Bell House

The Blasters; Robert Gordon
@ The Bell House
Brooklyn, NY - March 12, 2011

No one did it better than the Blasters - brothers Phil and Dave Alvin brought back pure, unadulterated, and original 1950's rock n roll in 1980's California. Phil Alvin continues to smile that big demented Bob's Big Boy-esque grin as he leads the Blasters in their latest go-round. Phil's voice is mostly unchanged from the glory days and the band is as crackin' as on those perfect records of old. Kicking off with a power chugging of "Dark Knight" and making their way through "Border Radio", "Marie, Marie", "So Long Baby Goodbye" (a few minutes of some of the greatest stuff ever made), and a batch of other boogie woogie bops before wrapping it up with "American Music", the Blasters prove to still be something of a lost treasure, a slice of Americana only known to a select few. The glorious pity of it all.

Robert Gordon's slick, veteran rockabilly voice was so classical that he almost made it seem too easy. Playing from the great rock n roll songbook, this old silvering fox crooned his way through his set backed by an able band.