It's a Catch-22. If I'm going to tell you about this hoppin' blues band, I'm going to have to sit my butt down and stop dancing around the office. See, I've got the Lionel Young Band's latest CD, As the Sun Goes Down, playing in the background, and it's not easy to sit still.
Lionel Young has come a long way to work that sort of magic on his listeners. A classical violinist by training, Young turned his interest to bluegrass and then, ultimately, to blues. His band, based in Denver, performs blues classics from the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Professor Longhair and Willie Dixon, to name a few, and Young's easy vocals, and his musicians' nimble jamming, pull us through. But it's Young's primary calling as a blues violinist that surprises some and puzzles others. But by then, the hook is in. Your booty is shakin'.
Catch this band's snappy renditions of the standards, as well as Young's own award-winning compositions, at the Ritz Grill, 15 S. Tejon St., 635-8484, starting about 9:30 p.m. No need for cover-money, but bring your dancing shoes.

-Tess Powers