Hawk and Tom's Acoustic Christmas Concert Greenville, SC

The radio station, B93.7, of Greenville, SC hosted Hawk and Tom's Acoustic Christmas at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg, SC on December 1, 2008 to jump start the Christmas Holiday. The show opened with Matt Nathanson, second was We the Kings, and closing the show was Gavin DeGraw. Every two songs the radio personalities of B93.7 would come on stage and ask the singers personal questions that were texted in by the audience.

Matt Nathanson, a folk rock musician whose songs have been featured on television shows such as NCIS, One Tree Hill, and Private Practice, took the stage first to start off the show. He was entertaining and brought a wonderful sense of humor to the program. He interacted with the audience and shared personal stories and anecdotes when answering the posed questions. During his radio hit song, "Come On Get Higher," he was disappointed that the audience sang too quietly. So, he ended his set with a rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" which inspired the entire audience to join along and serve him a standing ovation.

We the Kings played next. They are an up and coming Pop Punk band with their songs played on commercials for Newport Harbor and One Tree Hill, an episode of the Hills, and were up for several nominations for the VMA's. Because the show was acoustic only two of the band members performed, Travis Clark, the lead singer and guitar player; and Hunter Thomsen the back up vocalist and guitar player. They jammed out to their hits "Check Yes Juliet" and "Stay Young," which had almost everyone in the auditorium singing along. Travis went off on a few solo vocal sessions, which was incredibly impressive. They were very humble and sweet, constantly thanking everyone after each song.

Gavin DeGraw was the final act of the night. He took the stage and opened his set with the theme of One Tree Hill, "I Don't Wanna Be" on the piano. Everyone in the room sang along diligently. He was very personable and took questions directly from the audience and even took some requests. He showed his comedic side by playing a few funny drinking songs which at the end of one turned into "Silver Bells." At one point, he took his guitar to play a song from his new self titled album, Gavin DeGraw. Unfortunately, he spent a little too much time chatting with the DJs and telling his own stories that he didn't play as many songs as the audience wanted. He did redeem himself after the show. He went out into the cold to sign autographs and take pictures with some of his adoring fans.

Overall, the concert was fun and entertaining. However, it did lack a big part of the main title, CHRISTMAS. No one played any Christmas music, with the exception of Gavin DeGraw's one short take on "Silver Bells." I think that B93.7 should have left out the Christmas part of the show, it was a little confusing to some who might have been expecting Christmas songs. The other aspect of the show that I could have done without, was all the wasted time from the Q&A. People paid good money to see these artists perform, not to have coffee talk with the DJs. The least they could have done was saved the questions for the end of each set before introducing the next act.

The acoustic show was amazing and allowed the artists to introduce their music to a broader range of an audience. B93.7 and the hosts put together a good lineup which made for a terrific show. Maybe next year they'll call the show, "Hawk and Tom's Acoustic December Concert", it would be a little more fitting.