WEB SITE LINKS:
www.davidolney.com
www.redparlor.com
www.casbeers.com
I recently caught vocalist and instrumentalist David Olney and his accompanist, the very versatile-on-several-instruments, Sergio Webb at San Antonio’s Casbeers, a place of good music, good food and good drink for generations.
Willie you-know-who and Kinky-you-know who have performed on the small stage at Casbeers, and Kinky even has a burger named after him, with a dollar from each burger going to the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, co-founded by Kinky (several weeks before I caught Olney’s and Webb’s performance, Willie had arrived unannounced and jammed a while, I was told).
The food at Casbeers is very good, including its storied enchiladas, and you can get a bottle of Paulaner beer from Munich at a good price (not bad, for any venue, whether we are talking San Antonio or New York City.)
After the Olney/Webb concert, I got in line with others in the audience, and purchased Olney’s 2007 CD “One Tough Town.” The CD serves as a good reminder of that night’s concert.
The first two tunes, “Whistle Blow” and “Sweet Poison” took me right back. “Whistle Blow” features Olney on a very good blues harp, and “Sweet Poison” is a rockin’ tune -- at the Casbeers concert, Webb added some nice vocal accompaniment and equally good guitar licks.
Also from the CD, “Little Mustang,” “Oh Yeah (Dead Man’s Shoes),” “Snake Song,” “Panama City,” “Postcard From Mexico” all stand out, and were in the repertoire that night in San Antonio.
“Snake Song,” a Townes Van Zandt tune, features some very far out guitar work by Webb.
I couldn’t recall if Olney and Webb performed the final song at the concert, “Rainbow’s End,” but it is a good closer to the CD.
On the CD, “Oh Yeah (Dead Man’s Shoes), which starts off sounding a little like “St. James Infirmary,” features Olney on guitar, ukulele and vocal; Bill Huber on tuba and trombone; Richard Bailey on banjo and Craig Wright on percussion.
It is a neat little tale of buying Dead Man’s Shoes at St. Vincent’s, running off with someone else’s car, meeting a drug store girl who gives the narrator what he wants and the proverbial pullover by the cops, which is resolved through compromise.
The title track “One Tough Town,” features Olney on vocals, acoustic guitar and ukulele; Bill Huber on tuba, Richard Bailey on banjo and Craig Wright on parade drum (it does have a different sound.) The song is a musician’s lament about a tough audience, and a tough town.
So here are two tips: The first is go to the Casbeers web site at the above address (don't skip the intro or you will miss some good things, including a photo of the venue in the really old days), check out the performers who will be performing, and then peruse the menu and see what good food you want to have for your accompaniment for your Night At Casbeers in Old San Antonio.
Secondly, do yourself a favor, and go to the above web sites for David Olney and Red Parlor. As Muddy Waters would say, “Don’t Be Talkin’ Trash –- Get Out and Spend Some Cash.” Buy “One Tough Town” and give it the proper listen-to it deserves.
(Actually, here is a third tip: You can go to www.davidolney.com to get links to some of his work on www.youtube.com, including Olney poetry recitals and a clip of a performance that features some of Webb’s far out guitar work.)
