By Larry Nager
The Cincinnati Enquirer

With sweaty punk fervor and a roots feeling that has only grown deeper, the Blasters came back hard Saturday night at Bogart's. The band's reunion tour, the five members' first since 1985, showcased all the qualities that originally made the Blasters one of the all-time great American rock bands.

Foremost is the band's ability to weave the various roots of rock 'n' roll - blues, rockabilly, Cajun, boogie-woogie, country and more - into a sound uniquely its own, instilling all of it with punk-rock recklessness. The Blasters never sounded like a revivalist band.

But what made the Blasters unique was lead guitarist and songwriter Dave Alvin's contemporary approach, making little short stories in songs like "Border Radio" or "So Long Baby Goodbye."

Delivered with total vocal commitment by his older brother Phil Alvin and backed by boogie piano master Gene Taylor and the skintight rhythm section of bassist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman, it was a potent combination that, like good whiskey, has only gotten better as it mellows with age.

Phil was a bit hoarse Saturday, but never held back, from the opener, "One Red Rose," through to the finale, the final encore, a Big Joe Turner-meets-the Ramones take on "One Bad Stud."

Mr. Taylor took the spotlight, singing "Tag Along" and opened the encore with the Tampa Red blues "Don't You Lie to Me."

Dave, though he has made a post-Blasters career as a singer-songwriter, was happy to play guitar, turning in stinging blues solos in the Delta-flavored "Dark Night" or quoting Gatemouth Brown's "Okie Dokie Stomp" in the Blasters' anthem, "American Music."

But just as the Blasters were the odd men out in the days of Van Halen and new wave pop, the group remains a cult band today, even as the roots scene they helped create has come into its own. Although fans came from as far as Columbus and Lexington, there were barely 200 of them in the club.

But the group didn't seem to mind the small crowd. Cincinnati remains one of their favorite towns and Phil happily dedicated songs to an old friend they used to stay with in the Blasters' early days, as well as local institutions King Records and Pete Rose

Alt-country rocker Laura Minor opened the night with a crisp 40-minutes of soulful singing and a band sound reminiscent of early Lone Justice.

E-mail lnager@enquirer.com