Kevin Bronson on November 10th, 2008

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Not too much to say about Saturday night’s reunion of Letters to Cleo at the Roxy — the band’s first real show in eight years — except that Kay Hanley deserves to be known for more than a couple damned cover songs (“Cruel to Be Kind” and “I Want You to Want Me, from 1999’s “10 Things I Hate About You” soundtrack).

The 40-year-old sprite with the crystalline voice and boundless adrenaline gave a show that qualified as ebullient even to those who didn’t know “Here & Now” from the 1990s, or her band from the college radio ranks of that era. “Like riding a bike,” she joked after negotiating the machine-gun lyrics of her band’s biggest hit.

L.A.’s Boston mafia was out in force to support the Dorchester native, and besides the ex-pats’ predictable nostalgia, there were sweet moments too, like when Hanley sung a song directly to her 10-year-old daughter Zoe (that’s her name, tattooed on Hanley’s arm), who was in the house. Considering the singer’s palpable energy, it’s no wonder that, at 39, she toured with 15-year-old Miley Cyrus last year as a backup vocalist.

If nothing else, Saturday’s set demonstrated how well its power-pop has held up over the past 15 years. Letters to Cleo has East coast dates next month, including two homecoming shows in Boston that promise to be as feel-good as it gets.

Opening the show were the Oohlas [pictured above], the L.A. quartet fronted by an energetic blonde of their own, Olivia Stone. Much of their new material (they have a sophomore album in the works) sounded promising, but overall their set was plagued by an oppressive mix.