Charlottesville - With two of the larger venues in Charlottesville hosting sold out shows and a slew of excellent choices elsewhere around town, February 11 was either a dilemma or a blessing for central Virginia music lovers.  With so much to choose from and only two ears to listen, what to do and where to go?  I chose the Civil Wars at the Southern Café and Music Hall, one of the two sold out area shows.  With a recently released album that debuted at #12 on the Billboard charts and spent a week at #1 on iTunes, coupled with my curiosity regarding acts that I have not seen before, they seemed like a good bet for an enjoyable evening.  It was.

Doors at the Southern opened at 7 P.M.  When I strolled up at about half-past seven, the line was already snaking around down the sidewalk.  For a band that had never before played in Charlottesville, the turnout was impressive.  The crowd was the biggest I personally have ever seen at the Southern and was said to be one of the largest ever witnessed at this hot spot on the Downtown mall.

Lucy Schwartz showcased her talent as the evening’s opening act.  She was worth the price of admission by herself.  At just twenty years of age, she is both comfortable and poised on stage.  When making introductions, the California native endeared herself to a new audience with a customary “ya’ll”, a sound frequently heard from the Southern’s stage.  She played solo, possessing the talent to back up the unusual lack of accompaniment.  As with most opening acts, respect is earned, and it did not take her long to quiet the noise and chatter at the rear of the room.  Lucy’s soulful vocals are complemented by her ability to play multiple instruments.  She demonstrated her talent on the organ before switching to an acoustic guitar midway through her set and even brought out a harmonica for one tune.  The harmonica even got an apology from her for having eaten a lot of onions prior to the night’s performance!  Further adding to her penchant for comedy, just prior to her final song she said, “My name is Lucy Schwartz, as in may the Schwartz be with you.”  Her silliness achieved the desired laughter from the audience, adding a connection that went even beyond the music.  Her current CD Life In Letters is playing from my speakers as I write this review.  Both the CD and her live act come highly recommended.

Joy Williams and John Paul White make up the Civil Wars, an interesting name for a group that posses the cohesiveness shared by this duo.  The chemistry between them is instantly recognizable and rarely seen at this magnitude between musicians.  Even when they are standing apart, they give the impression of being joined at the hip, both spiritually and musically.  While both are extremely personable toward the audience, watching them onstage feels like intruding on their intimate moments.  Their body language is hot, their eye contact is constant, and all of that chemistry translates into an excellent night of music.

They even dressed the part, she in a black dress with a sash tied in a bow on her back and 4 ½” heels (I only knew the height of the heels because she announced it to the crowd), he like a “right, Southern gentleman," in a jacket with a bow tie.  While playing “Forget Me Not” (their second song of the night), she sidled over to him and adjusted the bow tie, than fixed a lock of his hair.  He looked on, helplessly at first, his expression changing to what appeared to be one of contentment at her attention.  It all ended with Joy singing, “You’ll Be the Only One For Me.”  You might have thought the whole scene was staged, except that it looked too real to be fake.  They write their material together, and with the bulk of the tunes on Barton Hollow being love songs, it’s as if their songs are love letters to each other.  On “I’ve Got This Friend” she sings, “…he sounds right out of a dream” while gazing in his direction.  If she wasn’t singing to him, well, then the Southern has ghosts!  Normally, a night of love songs would have me bored to tears.  However, their clever lyrics are hardly boring.

In an era of over-production, they do keep things simple, both onstage and on the tracks of the new disc.  The title song, my own personal favorite, is a haunting tale of a man seeking redemption that he knows will never be found.  Check out the video for the song, it is filled with outstanding imagery.  Not resting on the laurels of a brand new chart topping album they still offered fresh material, playing a song “Oh Henry” that was written just two-and-a-half weeks prior to the show.

Her mannerisms are theatrical without being pretentious.  She constantly waves her arms, always in sync with the music.  I could almost picture her levitating to the beat of his guitar.  His guitar playing is simple but assured.  He is a presence on stage for the sounds coming from his six-string and the vocals that feel like they come from his soul.

They ended the regular set with “Poison & Wine”, a song as simple as it is beautiful.  The crowd emphatically called for an encore, and they obliged, re-entering the stage from the green room after just a few moments.  Periodically throughout the performance, someone from the crowd kept calling for “Billie Jean”, a song they had covered in the past.  Not being a fan of the song to start with, I was quietly hoping that they would ignore the shout out, but as he picked up his guitar to begin playing, John Paul finally did acknowledge the request and went into the most incredible version of the song I have ever heard.  He altered the arrangements, turning it from a pop song into a hot, sultry blues tune that quite frankly blows away the original.  Not many covers exceed the original, and no disrespect intended, but they performed this song as if it were their own.

As the evening headed toward its climax, John Paul commented to the audience, “This is surreal to us. I hope you don’t think we’ re faking it.”  The constant glow that emanated from the stage and the perpetual smiles they wore on their faces would almost assuredly convince anyone who needed convincing.  They most certainly are not faking it.  One had only to watch the slow, seductive dance they performed together in the night’s last number before disappearing off stage to know that the dream is real.