Dillon Fence Plays the Turnage | Eastern North Carolina Now

Dillon Fence Enjoys a Piece of Their Past

        Dillon Fence enjoyed a nostalgic night of partying with their friends at the Turnage Theater in Washington, N.C. Dillon Fence was, in the early 1990's, a big draw in Chapel Hill, but as of late, they really haven't had much success as an ensemble.


    Their Saturday night at the Turnage was a reminder of their days in Chapel Hill playing Cat's Cradle, and knowing the admiration of folks that understood and seriously enjoyed their music. It must have been a wonderful time in their collective lives. Musicians need some notoriety to thrive in a business that, at its core, is built on one's breadth of popularity rather than their evolving communicable talent as a tunesmith and warrior of rhythmic tones. Back in their salad days, Dillon Fence, with singer / songwriter Greg Humpries fronting the band, made 4 albums, and received some local notoriety, but never could quite penetrate the market beyond a 50 mile radius of Chapel Hill, and therefore found their purpose as this ensemble limited. On Saturday night their purpose was renewed.

    Personally my tastes have never been oriented toward music that has such a popular feel, as Dillon Fence, built on simple chord progressions, completely devoid of any soul, or funk, or rock'n'roll for that matter. I was, however, happy for the band, and those in the audience that seemed to really enjoy their music played live; as if their reunion was as important to their fans, as if they were the reunion of Lynyrd Skynyrd themselves - with three of the original band members miraculously restored from the dead. Maybe I would have felt much differently toward Dillon Fence if they had just found the far flung skill to play "Free Bird."