Gonna see Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin perform tomorrow night.
I’m going to the show because friends of mine are the opening act but I’m not familiar with Dave and Phil Alvin. What am I in for?
I only know about The Blasters because I just looked at Dave Alvin’s Wiki page. Later today and during the day tomorrow I will have time to do a little exploring on YouTube or wherever. So, suggestions as to what I should check out will be appreciated.
Dave Alvin’s name didn’t stick in my head but I see from the Wiki page that he has been a member of The Knitters. I’ve actually seen The Knitters in concert (my same friends did a tour opening for them, which is the concert I went to, the same friends have also done a few tours opening for John Doe- they’ve kinda achieved X-tended family status over the past few years). So, I guess I’ve already seen Dave Alvin perform and I just didn’t know it.
And Dave and Phil Alvin fans here? Tell me all about them.
We went to see Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones back in 2012. Phil wasn’t part of the group. From my blog at the time:
“Tight four-piece band playing great r&b with rock and country overtones. They even slid into definite boogie territory briefly once or twice! Great show, performed in a tunnel-like vault under the railway tracks.”
Also an annoyingly truncated video clip I took of one of their songs! Sorry it’s so small; my camera’s seen better days and the video mode doesn’t zoom anymore. But I doubt you’ll be seeing them in a venue like the one in Glasgow!
There are also a few pics of the band and of the stage after the gig showing the set up and equipment a bit better.
You’re welcome; for a while West of the West was one of my favourite albums. But I doubt they’ll do any songs from it as it’s all covers!
The show I saw was mainly his then current release, Eleven Eleven.
I saw the Blasters several times & loved them. This band from LA playing a Jimmie Rodgets song on a stage usually inhabited by punks & new wavers? The first album was a revelation–Americana? Roots? Bluesy Rock & Roll?
Dave Alvin (the main songwriter) left the band for other projects (like the Knitters) & various solo efforts. Phil carried on as lead singer for the Blasters. One weekend, some years ago, Dave’s band played Houston on Friday & the Blasters played Saturday. We (those of us who attended both shows) decided it was a plot by the Alvin brothers to get more of our money.
Glad they’re back together. They play American Music. That is all you need to know.
Saw the Blasters (sans Dave) in a dive bar in Portland in 2011. Four short-haired old guys who love rock & roll with a touch of cow-punk. They played “Long White Cadillac”, “Daddy Rolling Stone”, “One Bad Stud” and “Blue Shadows” along with lots of other roots stuff.
Dave and Phil are awesome. Dave is my favorite songwriter-guitar player-bluesman-rocker-folk singer…I gotta be missing a few…of all time. Saw The Blasters in 1980 (first album stuff) before they broke up. Phil is strictly rockin’ blues. Dave does more. Helped totally revive folk music in the 80’s -see KING OF CALIFORNIA. But still a virtuoso rocker. When Billy Zoom left X (greatest LA rock band EVER), Dave took over. Plays guitar like a demon. The demons between them have kept them apart, but they keep coming together. This is a great collaboration between them. Only heard a little, but bless their souls, they can keep working it out. The show will be incredible. They don’t play the LA scene much any more. I use to go watch Dave at McCabes, a guitar shop in Santa Mo. Fifty people in the place, if that. Talk about intimate performance. Wish I was there.
Are you in L.A. currently? They’re playing at The Troubadour this Saturday (I know because my friends are the opening act for that show as well).
Yeah, as I mentioned in the OP, my friends have sorta become X-tended family over the past ten years or so. No doubt that’s how they booked this tour opening for Dave and Phil. In addition to this Dave and Phil Alvin tour, my friends have toured opening for The Knitters, they’ve opened at a few one-off X performances, they’ve toured opening for John Doe a few times, and a few times when they’ve been between drummers DJ Bonebrake has played drums for them.
So, this tour opening for Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin totally makes sense for them.
Dave likes girls who can rock. He’s got a whole band of them - The Guilty Women. Solana Beach, huh. It’s what I’m talking about. Dave plays Solana way more than he does LA. I’m just saying he doesn’t come here much anymore. I was at the live album recording of Out In California at The Blue Cafe (RIP), and he used to play McCabes once a year for a really long time. Tom Russell, too. He’s Dave’s folk buddy. The Blasters will always get an LA gig at the Troubador, but they don’t play together that much. I’m hoping this is a long-term thaw in their relationship. I would say I hoped you loved the show, but that’s just captioning the obvious.
Yes, it was a great show. High energy, Dave’s guitar solos are awesome! Phil did a majority of the lead vocals but Dave was the one who talked to the audience between songs. I always think that’s interesting when a lead singer doesn’t want to be the “face” of the band, it’s rare.
From what I gather, the two most recent albums are all covers of classic pre-RocknRoll R&B/Blues songs as a “back to our roots” kind of thing. There were only two songs that were said to be Dave’s original compositions (one specifically introduced as a Blasters song). Honestly, for me, the classic R&B thing made for too little variation during the set. If it weren’t for the fact that they do it so well I’d go so far as to say the lack of variation would have gotten tiresome. Still, as beautifully as they do the classic R&B, the two Dave-written songs were the highlights of the show for me.
As far as the relationship between the brothers goes, I don’t know their history but last night I’d go beyond saying they got along to go further to say there was a lot of genuine affection shown between them. There was a song (don’t know if it was a cover or one of theirs), the chorus repeatedly wrapped up with the line “all they ever ask is What’s up with your brother?” and they were clearly having the best time singing it together.