Wailers in top form for tribute

The Roxy throbbed with smoke and sweat Thursday as the Wailers celebrated the birthday of reggae icon Bob Marley, who died in 1981 at age 36.

Despite the long absence of their late leader, the Wailers did not strive for mere approximation, but to re-create a classic sound with a precision and warmth worthy of their history.

For more than two hours, the 10-person act (led by longtime bassist Aston “Familyman” Barrett) played music as tight as a drumhead, opening with a pair of instrumentals before the entrance of singer Gary Pine. There weren’t any bold reinterpretations of the Wailers songbook, which Marley himself might have felt free to explore, but none were needed.

There’s a reason fans return again and again to the classic Wailers sound, and it’s not only because of the Marley cult of personality. Within those razor beats and loose grooves is a sound timeless and universal, both urban and tropical, long ago transcending the reggae label to influence rock, soul, punk and pop.

It could be heard in the funk-heavy “I Shot the Sheriff” and delicate “No Woman, No Cry,” which the band played with a light but passionate touch. Pine often continued singing after the band ended a song, drawing the crowd in for some moving a cappella moments, cutting the songs down to their bare essences.