The Bristol Academy is not my favourite music venue so it took something special to lure me over the bridge on a Thursday evening. Jools Holland's "Later" is legendary for giving well and unknown acts an increasingly rare opportunity to perform on television. Last year we were blown away by just one song where the "Civil Wars" produced stunning harmonies. Thanks to the internet we could track down their tour dates and here we were.
In recent years " The Fleet Foxes", "Mumford & Sons" and "The Pierces" have opened the door for vocal, folk, country type groups to become popular again. The obligatory
support band " Matthew and the Atlas" fitted nicely into this category with lead singer Matthew Hegarty revealing a stunning voice, ably supported by a small band.
Most venues only normally fill up when the main act arrive but impressively the Academy was packed before "Matthew & the Atlas" started their set. Although they were musically pleasing they didn't possess enough variety to keep the audience hooked. It is a tricky decision about the balance of playing your own songs and choosing more familiar ones. I understand that Matthew wanted to showcase his song-writing abilities but as it is difficult to hear lyrics live for the first time this strategy doesn't always work. I am willing to give new artistes a chance but I didn't seek out the obligatory EP for sale in the interval.
The roar of approval that greeted the headlne act seemed to take " The Civil Wars" by surprise. John Paul White was immaculate in his dress suit with Joy Williams looking radiant in an elegant dress. Then they began to sing and we were all immediately captivated. I have never heard such beautifully entwined voices before, it was so natural and pure you felt that the likes of "Simon and Garfunkel", " The Beach Boys" and " The Mamas & Papas" would have struggled to match them musically.
The repertoire was generally love songs. not all of which ended happily but they knew how to vary their style between funny, sad, happy, emotional etc. The chemistry between them was astonishing and I was shocked when they stated they were married to other people and stunned to hear that Joy was 3 months pregnant.
It is one thing to be great singers but to be genuinely nice people over-whelmed by their success was quite another. They chatted so nonchantly with the audience it seemed impossible to believe they only started writing together three years ago. You could see that they were having as much fun as us and genuinely concerned about our well-being, requesting the spotlight be reduced to avoid blinding fans and advising us to stretch our legs having witnessed one fainting incident.
They also understood when to use the cover version, throwing in a Portishead song early on & ending up with a laid-back acoustic " Billy Jean" and the best version I have heard of one my favourite songs " Dance Me To The Edge Of Love".
They will tour again after the birth of Joy's baby and I plan to be see them in November at Cardiff University. Yes, they were that good. And I now love the Bristol Academy. What a night.
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