Two Gallants at the Independent 10/27/07 by Jory John

There are these moments when you’re watching the Two Gallants and Adam Stephens is singing so forcefully and Tyson Vogel is essentially destroying his drum set and you’re thinking, “Where can the song go from here? How long can you maintain what is essentially a six-minute climax?”. . .yet it manages to just keep building and expanding –occasionally accented by the quick, dramatic ceasefire in all sound — and the logical conclusion, when a band with a weaker constitution and less stamina would take a bow and launch into something else, the Gallants power up and all of a sudden Stephens has started singing an octave higher and you’re not totally sure where it’s coming from or how it’s possible to take it a full step above what was already an intense, gravelly melodic wail, wasnít he already reaching a breaking point? Yet now he’s wailing, yes, and his eyes are clamped shut and you can see the spray of his yell in the spotlight — every eye in the room is fixed on him if they weren’t before and Vogel’s drums fill the hell out of the gaps while he simultaneously takes his own wailing harmony –and the song– let’s say The Deader off their new album 2GS, for the sake of argument — which was already good has become something else completely: chill-inducing. This is just a duo that makes music that makes you want to make music at the same time causing you to ask, “Why bother? They’ve already got it covered.” Blues, rock, finger-picking electric-folk, breakup ballads (in the best sense of those words), alt-country, topical stuff: all of the above.

On Saturday night — taking the stage at San Francisco’s Independent around 11 PM — the Two Gallants played a high-intensity, varied two-hour set that left ears muted well into the early morning hours, a gig that set the formerly stone-faced room to “sway.” These Gallants are energy, personified, and it was with great fanfare that they played a couple packed shows (Friday night, as well) in their hometown in an incessant touring schedule. Stephens managed to call out names of a few people in the audience, old friends perhaps, now relegated to standing six feet below the band and perhaps reminiscing about the days when these guys used to play BART stations and street corners in the Bay Area for the exposure and commuter tips. Now they’re signed to Saddle Creek, have just released a new album and are receiving regular radio play (especially on college stations). The hard work has clearly paid off in their performances, musicianship and songwriting. They’re better than most and with just two people in the band, both members have a variety of roles to fill: In addition to keeping a watertight beat throughout, Vogel’s drumming plays an active role in the melody-enhancing, continually synching up with guitar and lyrics Ö and Stephens not only finger-picks his way through rhythm and lead guitar, but he plays the bass parts as well as harmonica and whistling solos. Their voices seem designed for each other, blending so well that sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s singing what part, perhaps a result of growing up and making music together for so many years. (In interviews, they’ve said they’ve known each other since they were five-years-old. They’ve been making music since they were 12.)

This is absolutely a band that gives you your money’s worth, never seeming to tire, never going through the motions. And there were some unexpected on stage moments: a.) Stephens getting down on his knees and playing a few minutes of guitar while hiding behind the drum set b.) Vogel’s microphone getting whacked by a stick and the stage manager fruitlessly trying to fix it for the duration of the song c.) some smiling.

The crowd was with them the whole way. It seems obvious that the Two Gallants’ fame is growing and will continue to do so in the coming tours and records and years Ö pretty much everyone realizes that these concerts are a treat, a chance to stand 15 feet from a fantastic band that started out good and is writing songs and albums that are headed toward classic.

Words by Jory John
Listen for yourself.