POP MUSIC REVIEWS : DAVID & DAVID IN HOMETOWN DEBUT

One show does not a legend make, but in their hometown concert debut Tuesday at the Roxy, David & David took firm hold of the “Voice of Los Angeles’ Underbelly” title that has passed through the hands of the Doors, the Eagles and X.

Like their predecessors, singer-guitarist David Baerwald and guitarist David Ricketts marry examinations of life at the dark end of the fast lane with irresistible, appropriately harrowing music. And like the Doors and the Eagles, David & David have brought their pop noir to the national charts via such archetypal songs as “Welcome to the Boomtown” and “Swallowed by the Cracks.”

Though their album “Boomtown,” with its studio-crafted, impressionistic sound, has been widely hailed as a fine debut, the question remained: Could David & David’s vision translate to the stage?

The answer Tuesday (the first of two nights at the Roxy) was a resounding yes, and more. With taut backing from a four-piece band, the music took on added dimensions. Such songs as “Swimming in the Ocean” and “All Alone in the Big City” carried so much sweaty, sultry tension in these performances that they seemed at once compellingly sensual and grittily repulsive.

This same dichotomy was reflected in the persona of front man Baerwald, who despite seeming like the kind of guy who never sees a silver lining (he introduced a new song, “Good Times,” by saying, “You never know what’ll happen next--you wake up in the morning and you’re dead”), he projected a mysteriously intriguing charm. That, plus several excellent new songs, indicated that David & David could be the voice of Los Angles for some time.

Singer-songwriter Charles Duncan opened the show with a set of songs nearly as dark, dealing more with the view from, as one title put it, “Hicktown” than Boomtown.