Greenville Scene

World Grotto
16 Market Sq
Knoxville, TN 37902
Contact Kim
crepnbuty@hotmail.com
(865) 226-2962
www.worldgrotto.com
myspace.com

World Grotto knows how to turn a routine rock show into an exciting, memorable event. There is a medium sized outdoor patio that greets you at the entrance. This is a great spot to hang out and watch the night life on Knoxville’s Market Square, an apparently new development that attracts the young professional crowd. When you walk into the venue, you will see a small bar, tables for seating/socializing, and an art gallery. Everything is clean and hip.

The performance space is downstairs. A modest stage in front of a faux rock wall with a movie screen in the middle sits at the far end of the long performance hall. Two tiers of pillowed Moroccan benches line both walls in front of the stage. The entire downstairs has a unique aesthetic; cave-like ceilings, multi-colored lanterns, textured walls, and sparkly floors. The bathrooms are spick and span, with troughs for sinks (and tampons provided in baskets in the girl’s bathroom – a rare convenience). Basically, the performance space looks like a fancy opium/hookah bar, sans opium and hookahs. And that’s just for patrons of the bar.

Bands are treated like royalty: three green rooms (plus a private one for…) stocked with refillable beer buckets, cheese bowls, pretzels, peanuts, fresh fruits, crackers, etc. The sound guys and employees are all very cordial and accommodating, which is more than a lot of clubs can say about their staff.

Overall, this bar is one of the best in the South. It really does not get much better. It is clean, aesthetically pleasing, it pays well, and the people are super nice. The only small complaint we have is that to load in you have to drive down a very narrow alley and haul your equipment down a flight of stairs (and then back up after the show). Other than that, it is perfect.

Tuesday nights are “Indie Night” and beyond that they have a range of bands perform. Capacity is around 200+ for the main stage area.

Free drinks for musicians? Big ole tub of cold, free beer

Similiar bars: Gottrocks

Who should try to book a show here? Everyone, from jam to metal

Built in crowd? No

Corey Crowder
Starting All Over EP (Special Edition)
Rating: 3/5

by Eric Dusel

The special edition packaging of Starting All Over includes several live/unreleased tracks and revamped artwork (kudos to greenvillescene.com’s Ellen Kelly.) While fans will take the new additions to heart, the new material doesn’t broaden Crowder’s brushstroke enough to win over many converts.

Crowder’s songwriting on Starting All Over focuses on relationships and the familiar questions people inevitably ask themselves: Where is this going? Are we moving closer together or falling apart? Is this a mistake?? In doing so, Crowder’s lyrics evoke a strong sense of urgency. In the track “Taking Back Roads” Crowder warns, “The tables are turning but no one is listening, and if we’re smart then we’ll move fast.” Although the character may not understand what changes are coming, the times they are a changin’, and something needs to be done now.

The songs are wrapped in concise ready-to-serve packages. Cowboy chords and simplified piano chops serve to paint a backdrop for the lyrics but never venture out of the shadow of Crowder’s wooden vocals…and rightly so. Crowder’s voice holds the listener’s attention and gets the meaning across all on its own.

While Crowder’s voice gives his songs the energy they need to stand on their own, it never serves to distinguish him enough from his more successful contemporaries. Fans of acoustic pop will find this album a comfortable and agreeable addition to their collection, but those looking for a new direction in this style will be let down. And maybe that’s a good thing…Corey Crowder clearly has the lyrical prowess to write songs that people can relate to (check out the responses he gets on his MySpace page.) He’s on the fast track to finding himself in a genre that has been largely iterated to perfection by others. Maybe starting all over would be putting the best foot forward.

Starting All Over (along with Crowder’s other offering, Learning to Let Go) are both available for purchase on his website.

Corey Crowder w/ Woodale and Jacob Johnson
July 28th 9pm
The Handlebar - Greenville, SC
$8/ $10

www.myspace.com/coreycrowder

www.coreycrowder.net

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Thanks to the many people who came out last night to our first GreenvilleScene sponsored show! We hope to bring Cool Hand Luke back to this area in the Fall.

Cool Hand Luke plays Gypsy G’s tonight at 9pm sharp! This is the first GreenvilleScene.com sponsored show, so come out and show your support! The band will play for approximately one hour and then Funkshua and The Neil Lucas Trio go on at 10:30pm. The show is $4/under 21 $8.

www.myspace.com/therealcoolhandluke
www.coolhandlukeonline.com