Fallin' for Greenville

I was tearin' up Carolina pavement all weekend. Trying my best not to howl obscenities and then overcorrect the steering wheel when I'd hear the rapid thumping of reflectors beneath the van en route to Charleston and Spartanburg. But I made it a point to get back to downtown Greenville by Sunday evening.

As with any Autumn/Winter Sunday, I first, of course, had to see my beloved Panthers get trampled on the football field in a public forum. Falcons cleated the poor bastards for the fifth straight year. Suppose having a defense about as effective as a mesh shower liner's just growing pains for one of The League's most talented newcomers, Cam Newton.

But after that weekend ritual, I cruised downtown for the one time of year I don't mind shelling out five bucks for a parking spot next to all the action - Fall for Greenville.

Hey, the City of Greenville's doing something right. For a few years there, it seemed all city officials were doing was breezing through The Handlebar's calendar and pulling in acts that had graced that stage, but it seems as of lately, such as with Rogue Wave last year, they're really hunkering down and pulling in original, uber-talented, under-the-Southern-radar bands that we may not be able to get down here otherwise. Case in point: Dawes.

Currently, one of my favorite songs is "When My Time Comes" by the North Hills, CA-based quartet. And what's even more legit? They referenced one of the greatest films of all time, "Cool Hand Luke," in their video for the song. They have a somewhat Springsteen-tinged, clean California, power-folk rock going on. Fantastic songwriters. Great musicians. Incredible harmonies. Put on an amazing show, and had me scouring YouTube and Grooveshark after the show for songs that I hadn't heard before. Like "Little Bit of Everything." Just what's supposed to happen after a show.

Unfortunately due to my schedule, short of the last few songs of Langhorne Slim and the Law's set, Dawes was the only Fall for Greenville concert I got to see all weekend. It's a shame, with national acts like The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, and Tift Merritt, as well as local heroes Mac Arnold and Plate Full O' Blues, Craig Sorrells Project, and the Piedmont Boys. But well worth it.

If Greenville keeps this kind of booking up, we'll have plenty more where that came from.