It was my wonderful wife, Maria, who first tipped me off to The Civil Wars. It was Taylor Swift on Twitter—not that Maria follows Taylor Swift, I should hope not!—that apparently tweeted about the folksy duo and, via the power of having a million followers, launched them into atmospheric orbit.

The Civil Wars are just about a stripped down as you can guy. Joy Williams (yes, that Joy Williams) and John Paul White, a guitar, and the occasional percussion and piano. The focus though, in my opinion, isn’t so much on the instruments. What sets this band a bar above others is how well they use their voices, together. It just works, so well. White’s trembling tenor and Williams’s crisp vocal range play so well together, you have to hear it to understand.

When we saw them live in a tiny club in Toronto back in the Spring. Well, let me just say that this is one of those groups you need to see live. I’ll say that their recorded stuff, even the live recorded stuff, captures only about 40% of the power and perfection of a live performance. 40% folks.

Here are a couple of my favourite live tracks, and their single:

“Between the Bars” (Elliott Smith Cover)

“Disarm” (Smashing Pumpkins Cover)

“Barton Hollow”

In 1967, a Winnipeg prospector was looking for quartz near Falcon Lake, Manitoba when he encountered a UFO. Two UFOs, in fact. When one landed near him, he cautiously approached. Later, he would describe the craft as something like a metal soup bowl with a dome on top. As he approached what he described as the door, he heard two voices inside and although he couldn’t make out what they were saying, he could make out two distinct speakers. Peering in the craft he saw only what he described as a maze of lights. Suddenly, the door slid closed and, stumbling backwards, he grasped out for something to grip onto. Touching the ship’s exterior his heavy work gloves were burnt. As the ship began to rise, an overwhelming stench of sulphur caused the man to be sick; heat from the craft caused his shirt to catch on fire and his toque to burst into flames as well.

When the prospector emerged to tell his story doctors and law officials could find no faults, however extraordinary. His clothes were burnt in unusual patterns and, what’s more, burns on his body were indicative of the same strange patterns and could only be explained by doctors as resulting from aircraft exhaust. To his deathbed, the prospector swore his story was true and to this day, the RCMP list the case as unsolved.

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I’ll be honest with you.

When Ben Folds Five released their break-through album, Whatever and Ever Amen, I was in Grade 7. At the time, my friends and I were largely into the kind of music that was popular at the time. I won’t even name names because it’s too embarrassing, but suffice to say, we were not cool enough to listen to Ben Folds Five. Not really, except one friend. Sure, he liked a lot of the same kind of music that we did but somehow he lived slightly outside of the headspace of the rest of us preteen boys. He loved Ben Folds Five and, of course, we teased the heck out of him for it. We thought it was boring piano music, nothing like the raging guitars and screaming vocals that filled up the rest of the music that we liked.

In hindsight, it was music like Ben Folds Five that’s endured. Politics and religion aside, Brick is a story, for better or for worse, and it’s a great story. Ben Folds has always been a masterful songwriter and I’m glad that even though it took some time and some growing up that I’ve come to appreciate his music. He’s a talented guy and Bob, you were right.

Brick (1997)

I don’t know if there’s really such a thing as a perfect song but if there is Canada’s Patrick Watson has surely hit upon it.

Watson is an immensely talented and creative performer who’s music is just nothing short of enchanting. This song is no different, but on track lists full of lots of other incredible music, it surely stands out. It’s simple, super-simple, but Watson’s voice over the gentle ebb and flow of the piano creates some kind of other-worldly bliss. With overly complicating things he captures some kind of raw emotion and, for me at least, it resonates big time. Performed live, as you’ll hear, this song is just breath-taking.

The Great Escape

In this new series, Live Tracks, I’d like to share with you some of my favourite live performances.

When I first heard of John K. Sampson it was as a member of the Canadian punk ensemble Propagandhi—a Winnipeg-based, liberal-minded, politically-charged group of young musicians looking to express their angst while making a difference in the world. To put it lightly. As a kid of, I guess, fourteen themes were largely lost on me but I loved the fast-paced, high-energy sound that the band managed and despite not really grasping what they were singing about a song that sounded like someone reading a textbook at an extremely rapid rate was nothing short of awesome.

Sampson ended up leaving Propagandhi, mellowing out, and putting together The Weakerthans— a Winnipeg-based, liberal-minded, poetically-poignant group of slightly older musicians looking to make good music and tell interesting stories. Occasionally, in concert, Sampson will revisit some of his old Propagandhi material and make it sound great. In this case, Sampson takes a high-tempo song and makes it sound awesome as a simple guitar and voice combination. In its stripped-down form, its the simplistic melody and the lyrics that really stand out. It’s Sampson’s overwhelming talent as a musician, I think, that really shows. Check it out, and enjoy.

Gifts

This Guest Track is courtesy of A. Mantle, a sojourner, a scholar and a string band enthusiast. If you’d like to contribute to the Guest Track series, send an e-mail to guesttrack@thecorch.com.

One doesn’t always think to search for truth in a small wooden shack amidst the company of two shaggy white men and a black panting dog. Yet The Avett Brothers’ acoustic take on their song 10,000 Words proves that this isn’t a hopeless pursuit.

I first started listening to The Avett Brothers during my initial fascination with string bands last year. As an eMusic article explained to me, “A string band isn’t exactly cut-and-dried… generally speaking, it [refers to] groups whose foundations are in the old-time music of the ’20s and ’30s, before the early heyday of commercial country music and the subsequent rise of rock & roll.” In my experience, this usually means at least three things: acoustic instrumentation, vocal harmonization, and lots of twang.

And so we have the musical backdrop for the timeless wisdom of 10,000 Words:

Ain’t it like most people? I’m no different. We love to talk about things we don’t know about.

How often I feel the need to pontificate about how others choose to live their lives and to act as if I had a privileged perspective that they were not privy to. When I act this way, I know I play the fool and talk on things I don’t know about.

The Epistle of James, written nearly 2,000 years ago also dealt with similar concerns when the author reminded his recipients that they should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19b). Because The Avett Brothers remind me that in the age of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, musicians might still have something intelligent to say, 10,000 Words is one of my favourite tracks.

10,000 Words

I like a good prank, or dupe, and this one is up there. Website Funny or Die hired singer Jewel, dressed her up with a wig, a fake nose, and “business” clothes and sent her with a group of other business persons to a karaoke bar. Disguised as “Karen,” a mild-manner and ostensibly shy employee of a frozen meat company she blows the bar away with her stunning renditions of Jewel songs.

It’s a great gag, and worth the watch.