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June 15th, 2007 @ The Basement—David Olney David Olney Sets The Basement on Fire Dave Olney and a cast of veteran Nashville session-aces that included Dave Roe on upright bass (Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam) and Sergio Webb on lead guitar (see additional photo) delivered smokin' hot roots blues that set an already steaming capacity crowd on fire. Olney began the set with "Whistle Blow" and blew some scorching harp in the process. The entire set followed suit, as Olney's voice sounded pure Memphis Blues and Sergio Webb's lead guitar was a demonstration in exorcism via blues guitar. Indeed, this was pure snake-handlin' shake the devil from your soul rock 'n' roll and Olney had the crowd so hypnotized during the Townes Van Zandt cover "Snake Song," that people were beginning to feel confident in testing the strength of the Spirit. Lighter moments during the set included a whimsically nostalgic beach-loving "Panama City" with a distinct Hawaiian vibe, a wonderful duo with Webb on a couple ukulele-ish instruments, and a New Orleans jazz influenced number called "Sweet Potato" (a song that features stellar clarinet solos by Jim Hoke on the record). To be sure, when watching Olney's über-cool live show (comprised of songs mostly from his recent release One Tough Town) one can't help but feel sorry for the Rolling Stones. Go see Dave Olney when he comes near your town. You'll feel the heat, and fans of Ralph Stanley, JJ Cale, or Eric Clapton may start fallin' out in the Spirit. —Vincent Wynne
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