[REVIEW] Civil Twilight w/ HalfNoise & MYZICA | 3rd & Lindsley | July 16, 2015

Civil Twilight
w/ HalfNoise, MYZICA
3rd & Lindsley; Nashville, TN
July 16, 2015

Review by Meredith Galyon. 

Civil Twilight is among one of the many bands to relocate and take Nashville as their home base in the last few years, and they’ve been making waves this summer with shows at Grimey’s and 3rd & Lindsley to celebrate the release of their new album Story of an Immigrant. We were fortunate to catch them at 3rd & Lindsley last week for this milestone in their career, so read on for a run-down of the show.

It seems like I only make it out to 3rd & Lindsley once every couple of months, which is a shame because I’m always reminded when I do go that it’s one of my favorite venues in town. I got there about an hour after doors opened at 6 and grabbed a table in the corner, ordered a burger and waited on the show to start. I really can’t express how much I appreciate having a place to sit and chill before I’m ready to spend the rest of the night on my feet, so shoutout to 3rd & Lindsley for accommodating lazy people like me.

I was definitely impressed with MYZICA, the first act of the night. The sweet, soft voice of singer Isaaca Byrd paired with Micah Tawlks creating catchy hooks on the keys reminded me of Tennis, one of my favorite indie pop duos out there, so I would definitely recommend keeping them on your radar. Up next was HalfNoise, former Paramore drummer Zac Farro’s brainchild, which was an interesting but entertaining transition. His percussion skills are no doubt a force to be reckoned with, and it was a nice change of pace to have a drummer as the focal point of a band, but honestly, his jokes and stage presence stuck with me more than anything. He came on stage wearing a bright red beanie and a Hawaiian shirt, and told us all that he and his band had just gotten off work at Joe’s Crab Shack, and he continued to reference the Shack throughout the show. Not sure where that bit came from, but I laughed at it nonetheless.

I finally decided to get up off my ass and make my way down to the floor to get a good spot near the stage. Civil Twilight came out to greet a packed house, and you could tell they were overwhelmed by the support of their community. Lead singer Steven McKeller said they were nervous about the show since they knew so many people in the audience, but nerves didn’t show in their performance. They opened up with “When, When,” a upbeat track with funky guitar riffs from the new record, to get the show going, then flowed over into “River,” one of my personal favorites from their previous album Holy Weather. There was a lot of jamming in between songs, which I thought was refreshing for a band that plays in a genre where three-minute songs are the norm. The setlist featured a great variety of songs over their catalog, including some of their more ballad-leaning tunes like “Please Don’t Find Me,” and electronic-influenced, danceable songs like their newest single “Holy Dove.” After about an hour, the band left the stage to be called out for their inevitable encore, and played a couple more songs for the demanding crowd.

If you haven’t checked out the new album, I’d highly recommend doing so and catching their next show, which is bound to happen again soon.

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