Check out a video highlight from The Civil Wars live session on KCRW below and read a review of their sold out LA show below.
From KCRW volunteer Monique Villa:
For those fortunate enough to attend the El Rey show Wednesday night, the general consensus remains The Civil Wars and James Vincent McMorrow aren’t going anywhere. From James Vincent McMorrow’s Irish pipes and beautiful lyrics to The Civil Wars’ timeless performance, this tour is a match made in heaven.
Dublin’s singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow opened the show with a microphone, his acoustic guitar and a falsetto that brought the house down. After performing four songs he bashfully addressed the crowd, “It’s very nice to meet you all.” If you didn’t catch his in studio performance on KCRW this past Tuesday, find it here.
Having written his debut “Early In The Morning” in a house on the Irish coast, hearing his live performance brings the audience back to that seaside with the rising and falling of his voice mirroring the waves. James Vincent McMorrow left each and every member of the audience feeling as if they just had the greatest conversation of their life.
Powerhouse duo Joy Williams and John Paul White known as The Civil Wars were greeted by an audience who knew what was in store: timeless songs and harmonies from two talented new musicians.
Onstage with two microphones, guitars, a keyboard and accordion, The Civil Wars resembled a modern day Johnny Cash and June Carter, playfully flirting and laughing between and during their set. It is hard to not love them based on their stage presence alone, with John Paul in a tuxedo and bowtie and Joy in a classic black dress and heels. Once they begin singing, however, it makes perfect sense as to why there was a sold out crowd.
On their song “Forget Me Not”, they sang in unison, “Let’s write a song for us / And sing it till we’re old and gray.” Every one of their songs elicited a notion of timeless songwriting, from their contagiously soulful single “Barton Hollow” to their closing cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me To The End Of Love”.
Visit the KCRWarchives to hear/watch The Civil Wars’ Morning Becomes Eclectic performanceto see for yourself.
— Monique Villa