Photos: The Civil Wars @ The Pageant

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

Performing for a rapt crowd, The Civil Wars put on a hauntingly beautiful performance at the Pageant. This show sold out nearly two full months before the show, which should give one an idea about the level of anticipation that was packed into the unusually hush house before the duo took the stage.

With the simplest of stage treatments and no more than Joy Williams, John Paul White and couple guitars within arm's reach on stage, this show was nonetheless a treat for fans – and this music photographer. 

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

The Civil Wars performing at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 2012. (Todd Owyoung)

Photographer's Notes:

Cameras Used:

  • Nikon D3
  • Nikon D700

Lenses Used:

While the Pageant almost always has a general admission floor, this show was a little different, with reserved seating spreading across the floor and all the tiers of the venue. Photography for the Civil Wars was restricted to the sides of the stage and the center aisle at the Pageant – basically just not in front along the stage or in the way of any of the seated floor.

With the shooting situation being what it was, this was almost exclusively a 70-200mm f/2.8 kind of night, and I could have easily shot with just that lens. As it happened, I shot one or two frames with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, but it was almost entirely superfluous.

With Joy Williams and John Paul White pretty much glued to their mics for their harmonized vocals, photographing this show required a little more patience than your average rock show. I found this particularly true for capturing Joy Williams's gestures.

This gig felt like a quick three songs, but it was a treat all around. Glad I got to catch the Civil Wars live, can't wait for the next time.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id='G00002lD6rmyoEu0′ g_name='The-Civil-Wars-2012′ f_show_slidenum='t' img_title='f' pho_credit='iptc' f_link='t' f_enable_embed_btn='t' f_send_to_friend_btn='t' f_topbar='t' f_bbar='t' f_show_watermark='t' f_htmllinks='t' f_mtrx='t' fsvis='t' width='600′ height='700′ bgcolor='#000000′ btype='new' bcolor='#FFFFFF' crop='f' trans='xfade' tbs='2000′ f_ap='t' bgtrans='f' linkdest='c' f_fullscreen='f' f_constrain='f' twoup='f' f_bbarbig=” f_show_caption='f' f_smooth='f' f_up='f' target='_self' ]