THE INSOMNIACS "LEFT COAST BLUES" Source: Blues Review Date: 11/2007 Writer: Robert Fontenot

TFew blues bands garner recognition for being young indeed, the genre’s dominance by aging masters is one of the leading arguments for its modern-day irrelevance (by the shallow, anyway). Yet Vyasa Dodson, singer/songwriter/guitarist for the Insomniacs, a Portland, Oregon-based jump/swing group, is 25 years old and looks a decade younger. Of course, if youth were the only attribute needed to pay tribute to the West Coast legacy of Lowell Fulson, Big Joe Turner, Hollywood Fats, and Little Charlie Baty, it would have happened long ago. But the secret weapon of this dueling-piano-and-guitar four-piece is their lack of reverence: They play like they’re enjoying it, with the energy and arrogance perhaps only twenty-somethings can muster.

Dodson’s vocals won’t shake up the blues world, but his guitar explores the spaces between Baty and Junior Watson as Alex Shakeri lights the piano and organ on fire. This heady combination produces some of the freshest dueling heard in years, so the lyrical missteps ‹”Shake That Chandelier” barely moves beyond its title, and “I Got Money” is about half as witty as it needs to be ‹are barely noticeable, like light conversation at a smokin’ party. Still, the best moments transpire when these cats shut up and play, as on the jazzy closer, “Be Quiet,” and the near-rockabilly noir of “Crime Scene.”

With a little more attention to studio craft, the Insomniacs could become legendary. Fortunately, they have plenty of time to make that happen.