Back in 2003, fraternal Blasters founders Dave and Phil Alvin reunited the original line-up for a run of shows to promote a compilation, and managed to bottle this live set at the Galaxy Theatre, Orange County, before Dave inexplicably pulled the plug once again.
Live: Going Home reiterates the review of the Alvin brothers’ contemporary Lost Time release; namely, that when these genre-splicing renegades manage to rub along, they’re ridiculously exciting.
Early cuts like Real Rock Drive and Border Radio set off down the tightrope between rockabilly, jump-jazz, blues and high-velocity punk, before the gearshift to the barbershop vocals of Crazy Baby and the doo-wop of Help You Dream. Later, the penultimate American Music seems an appropriate sentiment: few bands have put Uncle Sam’s spectrum of sub-genres through the blender with such success.
