by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
David Olney and guitar virtuoso Sergio Webb took the stage like Vaudeville performers of yesteryear at the European Street Café. Sergio was dapper in his urban cowboy outfit and David in his suit and fedora. The two traveling minstrels came on with road-seasoned true-grit and a repertoire of eclectic new music from David’s recently released album One Tough Town. This work was inspired by David’s reevaluation of his music and life after going through a crisis of creativity as the big 60 loomed.
One day David had an epiphany that helped him reinvent his songwriting style as dark and dangerous, using an array of unusual instrumentation and new ideas. The title cut, ‘One Tough Town’ alludes to traveling musicians hitting a town full of yahoos who are clueless to the performer’s style of music. In a broader perspective, the concept could be extrapolated into future space travel when space-roaming troubadours hit “One Tough Planet,” as David’s lyrics suggest.
Incredibly, Sergio and David are such advanced musicians their duo sounds like a full band. Sergio switches from acoustic to electric guitar to pedal steel. His inventive technique includes violin-like sounds from both his electric and acoustic guitar. Indeed, Sergio possesses amazing chops and is one of the best guitarists I’ve ever heard. He adds subtle articulation to David’s acoustic playing, but always in context with David’s songs, which run the gamut of blues, rock, country, hillbilly, and mountain music.
David’s new album was the result of teaming up with Nashville producer Jack Irwin. David began recording One Tough Town in 2005 with Sergio and Nashville’s top hired guns on various instruments. This resulted in David’s reinvention of himself on CD as “One Tough Dude.” It’s safe to say that David exceeded his own high standards with the new level of creativity on this recording. It’s David’s new bold sound.
Live, David and Sergio create a big sound from the rockabilly beat of David’s Elvis-inspired ‘Sweet Poison’ to the blues-rock burner ‘Whistle Blow.’ The audience at European Street immediately realized this was no lame folky hootenanny. After each song, the ES crowd showed their enthusiasm with loud applause. The sound engineered by Ron Brown was flawless as the dynamic duo plowed through David’s new album and his other material, representing 40 years in the biz as a highly respected songwriter. David’s friend and fan, Townes Van Zandt, says that when anyone asks him who his favorite songwriters are he says Mozart, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney.
On David’s ‘Who’s the Dummy Now,’ it came across as a clever allusion to a ventriloquist getting educated by his dummy who outsmarts his master, asking, “Who’s the dummy now?” It’s clever and funny and full of philosophical wisdom in David’s twisted sense of humor. ‘The Cards are Pitching Dizzy Dean’ is an ode to the good old days of baseball and the disappearance of the family farm. This song harkens back to the mountain music, which became bluegrass with a prominent five string banjo. On ‘Little Mustang’ David channels his Tom Waits’ voice with its rock guitar lead and heavy bass beat. The song got inside my brain like a large hit of Jack Daniels–it burns so good as David sings, “Take her out in the moonlight and watch my little Mustang fly.” Sergio moved to pedal steel for ‘Panama City.’ The song sounds like a cross between Don Ho and Jimmy Buffett with a distinctly Hawaiian sound, making this Florida town much more intriguing than it deserves.
Local singer/songwriter sensation Chelsea Saddler opened for David and Sergio. It was my second experience digging this talented young lady perform. And, it was as awesome as my first time. Clearly, this was a memorable show produced by Ray Lewis at the European Street Café Beach Boulevard location, which is going to be a Saturday night tradition. David Olney’s long list of releases are available on his website at davidolney.com.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
