POP MUSIC REVIEWS : T-BIRDS PARTY

It’s a long way from the low-down, raucous saloons in Austin, Tex., to the Art Deco surroundings of L.A.’s chi-chi Wiltern Theatre. But the Fabulous Thunderbirds not only made that transition easily Tuesday, they managed to bring that sweaty, gritty ambiance with them, transforming the formal Wiltern into one big party room.

The T-Birds might be best known for their sex-doll dominated MTVideos of “Tuff Enuff” and “Wrap It Up,” but those songs provided some of the lesser moments in Tuesday’s set, especially when compared to the encore, where blues legend Buddy Guy and super-nova guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan (brother of T-Birds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan) joined in, turning up the heat and tearing down the house.

But the Thunderbirds didn’t need the extra chili sauce of their guest artists (two members of Los Lobos were also on hand for some backup vocals) to prove that they’re one of the finest practitioners of traditional blues-boogie-soul music around, as well as one of America’s preeminent party bands.

Singer Kim Wilson blows a mean harmonica and his singing has a subtle phrasing that’s both powerful and restrained. Jimmie Vaughan may not go in for his sibling’s pyrotechnics, but his spare lines and Link Wray-like power chord rumbling put him in a gutsy class of his own.

It takes quite a group to actually make a 12-bar blues interesting, but the T-Birds’ enthusiasm and liveliness guarantee that their music (and their audience) will be filled with as much life as possible. Some guy in the crowd kept telling “T-Birds for President.” Anyone want to second that nomination?