Ed Deane & Band
JJ Smyths, August 2005
Back in the early 70’s when we were all moving about in random directions, trying to make ends meet and waiting for the weekend to hear some live music in the local youth club or in the Club a Go Go or the Countdown Club, our local heroes were the musicians who made it across the water to the big league. To the fans and budding musicians at home, these exiled heroes generated pride and joy as they built their reputations, broke new musical ground and achieved international recognition for their musical talents.
It was in this context that I felt a real sense of privilege watching two of my local heroes -Ed Deane and Fran Byrne- walk on stage in JJ Smyths after following their careers in the New Spotlight, NME and Hot Press over the years, in an industry that can tear your soul apart and unfortunately has sent many of our musical heroes to a sadder stage in the sky. There was an honesty in the way these men played that made the experience unique, a feeling that all that matters to musicians of this calibre is getting to play in a place and at a time where it would mean something to people.
When you’ve paid your dues and toured as extensively as Ed Deane you always try to add something new and it becomes clearly evident that when he plays a solo he doesn’t stick to what was planned but plays from the heart until he can hear himself singing through the guitar. He plays the classics and he plays them well, not with the original precision or technical finesse but with his own eyes-closed, self-possessed, unique style that shows how much he has embraced each song and made it his own. When his heart tells him to get out a little bit he goes for it and when it pays off it’s a lotto win for everyone in the room. Ed also has a superb safety net in his drummer Fran Byrne, whose ability to weave support and innovate around Ed’s playing was absolutely fantastic and a joy to ears and eyes.
Ed’s main guitars on the night were a Black Fender Strat and a commie-red Danelectro both strung with the low E string closest to his shoes. Ed strings them as if played by a right handed player thus the bass strings are on the bottom of the neck - except for a jazzy, old-world, Aria Pro hollow-bodied archtop with the strings strung the opposite way, the sign of a man who likes a challenge and a musician who wants to play what he hears in his head. Ed had trouble getting this good-looking, Gretch-like guitar under control with a fair bit of uncomfortable twiddling with the tone and volume knobs as the jazzy number progressed, which is often unavoidable when utilising several different types of guitar through a stage set-up, often resulting in the guitar sound having a mind and agenda of its own.
It’s a suspension of disbelief to see Ed move between right-handed and left-handed guitars, playing them backwards and forwards, in open and standard tuning, following his handwritten set list on the floor beside him and occasionally taking a request from the crowd, who were jubilantly heralding Ed Deane’s return, delighted to witness this legendary Dublin Guitarist on stage again.
Ed plays a myriad of diverse guitar styles very effectively, a veritable treasure trove, including some highly charged Link Wray and the unmistakable, reverb-drenched, left-handed upsidedown, Dick Dale surf guitar with whammy bar chords that makes you want to drive out to Dollymount Strand with the top down at midnight, to hear the waves crashing onto the rocks of Dublin Bay on a hot summer's night.
It’s when Ed gets into the Blues that this southpaw reveals a startling, vibrato-enhanced, ringing guitar style, his guitar chops imbued with the same emotional, left-handed, string bending intensity and style of another Chicago southpaw - Otis Rush. When Ed Deane plays it's about attitude, delivering every note with conviction, using a combination of pick and fingers to get the chugging, boogie riffs up and running. And as soon as the band are all aboard the bluestrain he dips into his bag of tricks, sliding up the fretboard to pull double-stop bends and piercing single note lines, pouring himself into every move, never failing to command complete attention.
by Mick Kenny kennymik@eircom.net
Photographs © 2005 Barry O'Reilly
This review has been edited to fit. Read complete review on
The Irish Blues Club website
