Civil Twilight leave their mark on Tulsa

It was a typical muggy August night; but there was something very special in the air about this evening at the Cain’s side stage. We were all about to embark on a journey with some very talented musicians and for most, a night that won’t soon be forgotten.

The Spring Standards opened up the show to a fairly small crowd at Bob’s, but by the energy the band was giving off, you would have thought they were playing to a packed house. The Spring Standards have been together since 2008 and are from New York City.  James Cleare, Heather Robb and James Smith make up this energetic trio who all sing and are multi-talented musicians (although there was a forth musician playing with them tonight). There was everything from the standard guitar, bass and drums to horns, xylophones and harmonica’s being played. There wasn’t a “lead singer” as they all lead songs at times. The band has a unique folk-rock-indie sound with incredible harmonies.

At one point in the show, Heather mentioned they were a band from New York City with no place to stay and wanted to know if anyone would mind if four musicians crashed at their house for the night. The crowd was laughing along with this statement, but I still have to wonder if she was serious and if so, I sure hope they found the hospitality they needed. The Spring Standards are definitely a great band and if you missed this show, you can be assured there is not a boring moment in their set. They are truly a great jam-band and I encourage you to check them out the next chance you get.

The Spring Standards photo gallery

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

After a short intermission and many more people coming through the door, Civil Twilight took the stage and the majority started to huddle close up front. Civil Twilight is fairly new on the scene; originally from Cape Town, South Africa, the 3-piece band made up of; Steven McKellar (vocals), Andrew McKellar (guitar) and Richard Wouters (drums), made their way to the U.S. three years ago to pursue their musical career. They state that Radio Head, U2, Oasis and The Police are some of their influences and it is very apparent in their music.  The band opened with their song “Something She Said” and after looking around and seeing quite a few singing along, it was evident that Civil Twilight has quite the following already here in T-Town.

There are some bands when you see them for the first time that just have “it”; and Civil Twilight definitely is one of them. The whole band has true star-power. Even before their set started, lead-singer Steven McKellar walked through the room and just the way he carries himself, you could tell he was somebody. Although he appeared to be very approachable, the “it” factor was in full force.

Civil Twilight gave it their all and even though there were just over 130 people in attendance, it felt much more like a sold-out show. The response from the crowd was incredible and even surprised the band. Although all the songs were well received, song favorites seemed to be “Soldier”, “Letters From the Sky” and “Anybody Out There.” Steven McKellar was definitely channeling a young Bono and at times there were heavy threads of Cold Play in the mix. Native Lights, an up and coming local band right here in Tulsa was being mentioned by some concert goers as to how Civil Twilight resembled them as well. They are definitely no “copy-cat” band and even though they pull from the bands that influence them, they have a sound that is distinctively their own. With Stevens haunting vocals and their songs that appear to be deep with meaning I feel Civil Twilight has a lot to bring to the music scene.

Civil Twilight photo gallery

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

It was obvious during the show with the bands good looks, that most of the females in attendance were glued to the stage. One woman even yelled out “do you need a place to stay”, most likely because of the Spring Standards statement earlier. This brought lots of laughter and Steven said “well, that’s a first.”
The guys ended the night with Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”;  although they stayed true to the song, they definitely had their signature sound weaved in. The crowd was electric at this point, dancing and singing along.  Civil Twilight is very charismatic on stage and Steven is excellent at engaging the crowd. This was definitely a show not to miss and if you did, then watch for the next time Civil Twilight comes to town. Before too long, I am sure they will be a household name.