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Last Fair Deal pounds out blues with a twist Saturday night at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14 St. The band, which features violinist Lionel Young (left) as its frontman, made its debut in Lincoln Friday. |
Last Fair. Deal features unique approach to blues |
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 By Matthew Burton Staff Reporter To describe Last Fair Deal as an ordinary blues band would be misleading. Last Fair Deal, which made its Lincoln debut Friday night at the Zoo Bar, takes a unique approach to the medium by featuring Lionel Young, a classically trained violinist, as its frontman. Young, resembling Gregory Hines with wiry thin dread locks tied behind his head, took the stage with his three cohorts Saturday night in front of a sparse crowd. The band played extended arrangements of various blues standards. Using his black electric violin and various effects such as reverb and wah-wah pedals, Young plucked and bowed a 'Daily Nebraskan sound more reminiscent of Hendrix than a concert violinist. Capitalizing on its versatile, funkdriven rhythm section consisting of Rusty Logsdon on bass and Jake Ciancia on drums, and Young trading off leads with David Moore on guitar, Last Fair Deal quickly proved itself to be more than a blues band. |
Logsdon got the funk out by lending an
occasional vicious slap bass, while Ciancia added the salt and pepper
with his reggae-tinged drumming. To close its first set, Last Fair Deal cooked through Robert Johnson's "Preachin' Blues" with a solid, raucous train rhythm and plenty of distortion courtesy of Moore's cherry red Gibson. "This band is slowly melting together with a little funky reggae style ... but blues is still the main thing in this band," Ciancia said. By the second set, the crowd had grown considerably. Last Fair Deal proceeded to tear through blues standards such as "You'll Be Mine" and "Walk Away," for which Young picked up a slide for his violin, adding an eery flavor to the set. Capping off the second set the band played a very long version of another Robert Johnson tune, "Last Fair Deal," the band's namesake, which showcased each member's abilities. During "Last Fair Deal," Young played a variety of styles, from a country blues fiddle to a flamenco style plucking. Using strange arrangements, the band went into a Bob Marley tune before going back to the "Last Fair Deal." Ending the third set, the band played a funky version of James Brown's "Sex Machine." By the end of the night, Last Fair Deal answered any questions about using a violin in a blues combo. To say the least, Last Fair Deal got down. |
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