Greenville Scene

by: Tiffany Heuser

{right: Jonathan Edwards plays an open mic at Coffee Underground.}

My first time at an open mic night was mostly by accident. I was at a coffee shop with a friend who noticed a neon pink sign advertising an open mic night. We shrugged, decided we didn’t have anything better to do, and went to check it out. That night, I suffered through some decidedly unique performers and was entertained by others that, to this day, are some of my favorite musicians. These nights provide great opportunity for all involved. For a performer making his debut or an old veteran dusting off her case, open mic nights provide a friendly atmosphere; it’s okay to make a mistake, laugh with the crowd, adjust the tuning and carry on. For the individual looking to be entertained (and not so much to do the entertaining), an open mic night is a fantastic place to sit and listen to singer/songwriters with varying degrees of talent and experience and it costs only your time and the price of your latte. If you are a performer, a music lover, or simply have a free evening, try checking out one of the open mic nights offered around Greenville.

Tuesday Open Mic Night @ Leopard Forest Coffee Company
www.leopardforestcoffee.com
This new open mic at a small coffee shop in Travelers Rest is nothing to sneeze at, drawing in about 8 – 10 artists each Tuesday including highly favored regulars from Wednesday nights at the Coffee Underground. Though shows are scheduled to start at around 7:00pm (signups at 6:30pm) the few times I’ve been many artists don’t show up until later—which, really, is okay, since the host is Jacob Johnson, a young man who is so very talented. The well-lit atmosphere is fun, casual and much more suited to those with younger children. Admission is free.

Tuesday Open Mic Night @ The Cellar
On Tuesday evening around 7:30 pm, there is an open mic night at The Cellar which is located below Gypsy G’s (where the Pickin’ Parlor used to be). This is a new one, but probably a good one. Musicians get about 20 minutes or so of playing time with several performers preferring to play out on the porch and others playing on stage inside. Admission is free.

Wednesday Songwriter’s Open Mic @ Coffee Underground
http://dryridge.org/acousticseen
Acoustic Seen presents undoubtedly the most popular open mic night in Greenville and has one stipulation for potential stage-takers—songs must be original. This open mic is, after all, for songwriters performing with acoustic instruments. Signups begin at 7:00pm and the first person takes the stage at 7:30pm. Songwriters have time to perform 3 songs (2 if they’re long). Sign up early if you don’t want to be scheduled to play until 10pm! If you are more of a music lover than a music player, you are in for a treat. I’ve seen some of the best performers on that stage and many of them are regulars. Keep in mind the Coffee Underground Theater is a listening room, so please try not to talk while someone is performing. “No admission charge, but tips are good karma.”

Thursday Open Mic Night @ The Channel Venue
http://myspace.com/thechannelvenue
Tuesday nights at The Channel can be rather unpredictable—some nights there is one performer, other nights there are twelve. During the school year there tends to be large crowds, but when school is out, don’t expect too much. Despite the fact that The Channel is a Christian venue, there is not a requirement for the performer to be Christian or to play Christian music—just keep it clean. It is advertised as starting at 6:30pm, but has since been changed to starting at 7:00pm and, generally, folks begin arriving around 8:30 or so. Admission is free.

The Mission
1157 Broad street
Augusta, GA
www.themissionlive.com
myspace
jason@themissionlive.com

The Mission is perfectly situated right in Downtown Augusta, GA. Think of the Handlebar minus the restaurant. Local artists’ work lines the walls, some retro video games and colorful flair make up the interior. Walk in the door and to your left is a raised platform with some couches and a pool table. This doubles as a stage for the weeknight and smaller bands shows. A full PA system is run from the bar.

Down the hallway opens to a 500 capacity listening room about 2/3rd the size of the Handlebar’s room. The night before we played the lounge stage, Cracker played the main-stage. Other big acts that have graced the main-stage are Veruca Salt, Col. Bruce and the Codetalkers, and Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The Mission showcases many styles of music: indie/alternative acts, hip-hop, rawk, country, rockabilly, electro, dance and anything on the outer edge of mainstream.

Free drinks and the occasional spoil of shots may be brought to the stage by the caretaker and one-man workhorse, Jason Barron, who runs every aspect of the Mission, from booking the shows to running sound and bartending. Jason puts out a valiant effort to make the club work. There isn’t much of a built-in crowd however the town will show up in droves to support when the right band comes through. Maybe that’s you and yours; the Mission is only 113 miles from G-vegas.

Here is the very first greenvillescene.com podcast. Download it, listen to it and love it. I’m fond of so many styles of music so hopefully this podcast has a little something for everyone. Please be sure to leave some feedback in the forum. Thanks to all the labels and artists for allowing us to use these tracks. Also, I would like to thank Ben Hargett many times over for his audio wizardry. - Andrew O.

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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