Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks Shake Up the Grey Horse Tavern

The energetic band had the wooded dance floor hopping and heating up on Friday night at the propelled by Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks' intoxicating brand of country rock. 

Early on in the performance Casey crooned the lyrics, "Let your hair down, baby" during the Johnnie Ray song "Cry"—which Casey explained was a big hit right before rock 'n' roll originated— the audience seemed to take these words to heart as couples whirled one another around, quite literally swept off their feet.  There was a sea of hands waving jubilantly in the air, along with some serious hip shaking.  It was a toe tapping, knee slapping, hand clapping good time.

Gene Casey and various lineups of his band, the Lone Sharks have been delighting music lovers since the late '80s.  Throughout all their incarnations, with Casey at the helm of this sonic ship, they have delivered a crowd pleasing mix of Western Swing, Louisiana Boogie, classic rockabilly, honky-tonk and R&B jump blues.   

In 1995 the band took up residency, for several years, at Bridgehampton night spot The Wild Rose Cafe.  They have also been featured at other notable New York venues such as the Bottom Line, the Waldorf Astoria's ballroom and aboard the USS Intrepid.

Casey was joined by the current lineup which has been in place for the past decade:  Tony Palumdo on upright bass, Chris Ripley on drums and Paul Scher on saxophone.  Together, they can be counted on to conjure up swampy R&B, country and western and the essence of New Orleans, for heart-pounding renditions of vintage tunes.

In 2005 A Lone Sharks Six-Pack was released featuring classic rockabilly and R&B, plus Casey's own "Sherri on the Ferry" and his heartbreakingly beautiful ballad "Who's Sharing the Moon" which was later performed as a duet by Casey and local great, Nancy Atlas on her recent live CD/DVD set.

The impressive band has been chosen as "Best of the Best" in both Dan's Papers and Hamptons Magazine.

The Lone Sharks' 2008 release, What Happened is composed of Casey's songs recorded both solo and with the band, while 2010's Rhythm & Twang is a mix of live and studio cuts, originals and classic jump R&B.  Both are available at CDBaby.com.  A selection from each album could recently be heard on an episode of the FX Network TV show Justified.

Casey was thrilled to be back at the Grey Horse Tavern, and not just for its stellar acoustics.  He said, "We like rooms that have a lot of wood.  We love the people here, and it's a great restaurant.  We really do look forward to this gig."

The Lone Sharks rattled the walls from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.  Their three set show consisted of an even mix of originals and classic covers, including several tunes off their latest release.  Casey said, "We try not to do just one thing so people don't get bored."  There doesn't seem to be much chance of that happening during one of their captivating performances.

Mike Versandi from Sound Beach has seen the dynamic act at least 20 times.  He said, "It's just pure rock 'n' roll, that's something that's lacking today; there's no pretension.  It's just easy to like."

"It's unbelievable to look at the younger crowd.  You can't beat the rhythm  ... You cannot help but dance to this music," said East Patchogue resident Richie Mato.

The tall, charismatic front man even did a couple of full splits as he let lose his resonate baritone, and emitted his signature guttural growl, while wildly wailing on the guitar.  Some highlights of the evening included the originals "Dirty all the Time", "Gone Hollywood" and "Bad Baby", which had the crowd partying like it was 1955.

Mato said, "It brings you back to the old days of rock 'n' roll."

Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks can be seen the second Friday of every month at Giacomo Jack's in Amityville.  Go to the band's website for a complete list of upcoming shows.