Concert Review: The Civil Wars at Beale Street Festival in Memphis
Today the 36th annual Beale Street Music Festival wrapped up, and unlike in years past we made it through the weekend without the slightest hint of rain. Of course, rain probably would have been pretty welcome on a day like today, with temperatures peaking in the mid-90s. The mid day crowd seemed thinner than in days past and everyone was jockeying for a spot in the shade. Water could have sold for $20 a bottle and there still would have been a line wrapped around the block. The medic unit was busy dealing with people suffering from a little too much fun in the sun. While the afternoon crowds were entertained by the likes of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, the Head and the Heart and Coheed and Cambria, the sun finally decided to set taking with it the oppressive heat. That brought to the Horseshoe Casino stage one of alt-Country’s rising young stars The Civil Wars.
If Jane’s Addiction took the award for most elaborate set design this weekend, the Civil Wars may just have taken the most minimal. There was no band to back their melodies. No stage props to monkey around with. It was just our impeccably dressed duo Joy Williams and John Paul White. The pair met at a songwriting workshop in Nashville in 2008 and have been inseparable ever since. They’ve opened for Emmylou Harris and Adele as well as won the Grammy for “Best Folk Album” and “Best Country Duo/Group Performance.” They’ve even collaborated on a song with the newest queen of country/pop music Taylor Swift on the Hunger Games soundtrack.
The Civil Wars opened with the track “Tip of My Tongue” drawn from the Poison & Wine EP. Joy’s voice was as silky smooth as she sounds on the album. The first thing that is evident is the chemistry and rapport between the two. They aren’t a couple in real life, but they play one in the musical universe. Joy was performing six months pregnant so that led to the inevitable “he thinks I’m fat” comment, and her threatening to fire him when he suggested they cover a Alison Krauss tune. This verbal wordplay goes a long way to making them likable and fun.
The set list was drawn largely from their debut album “Barton Hollow.” They played their contribution to the Hunger Games Soundtrack, “Safe & Sound,” which doesn’t get taken out of their musical bag of tricks often. They also played three covers; the first from their album (Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love”), one inspired by their recent UK tour (an interesting acoustic take on Portishead’s “Sour Times”) as well as the least likely song you’d expect them to cover (Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” goes bluegrass). They all were reworked to make them their own.
The Civil Wars are a very talented songwriting pair. They steer to the lighter side of the musical spectrum with their acoustic sensibilities, but it is a beautiful sound. If there was a drawback to their set at Beale Street it is that their genre of music has a tough time competing in the festival atmosphere. At times, their acoustic set had to compete with blasting guitars from Herbie Hancock on the neighboring stage, but for the most part, the crowd was very courteous and quiet, focusing in on the softer nature of their songs. In fact, Joy commented that this was the best festival crowd they’d ever played for.
It was a fantastic show. They certainly play to their strengths and looked to bring the crowd into the experience. Joy admitted the band would be taking a break for a while as life prepares her for the new joys of motherhood, but I look forward to seeing what the follow-up to their critically acclaimed “Barton Hollow” album sounds like. Avoiding the painful sophomore slump is especially challenging, but they have the talent to keep building their audience one song at a time.
Join us tomorrow as we wrap up our thoughts on the Beale Street Music Festival and look for a Beale Street in Photos coming midweek.
The Civil Wars Beale Street Festival Setlist
Tip of My Tongue
Forget Me Not
From this Valley
20 Years
I’ve Got This Friend
Safe & Sound
Barton Hollow
Falling
Oh Henry
To Whom It May Concern
Birds of a Feather
Sour Times (Portishead Cover)
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson Cover)
Poison & Wine
Dance Me to the End of Love (Leonard Cohen Cover)
