Two Gallants is one of those bands – you love them, you hate them, or you’ve never heard of them. A two-piece folk rock band from San Francisco, they are currently touring to promote their latest release The Bloom and the Blight. Last night, the Brighton Music Hall was filled with all of your garden variety folk-rock fans: the crunchy outdoors-y types who listen to “steady rollin'” on every weekend hike. The post- Jeff Mangum introverts who awkwardly raise their hands high and “still think the last album was a lot more genuine.” And of course, the bros raising their tallboys in the air screaming “DUDE, JAKE SHOULD TOTALLY BE HERE RIGHT NOW.” Regardless of their differences and the varying cut of their jeans, there was an unmistakable unity amongst everyone in the audience – they were there to see the music that has defined so many moments in their lives. Because that’s the kind of band Two Gallants is – they are the soundtrack to the indie movie that is your life. And last night, everyone seemed to be recollecting their favorite scenes.
Of course, the music itself was the highlight. In venues as intimate as the Brighton Music Hall, there is more of a give and take between audience and musician. Needless to say the band delivered, feeding off of the crowds energy while keeping it tight on stage. Despite the limitations of the two piece guitar/drum instrumentation, it was clear that they were conscious of their abilities as a band. They were comfortable with contrast, sounding as full or as sparse as they wanted to. The lead singer’s screeching over walls of distortion was only made more exciting by the soft crooning and delicate fingerpicking that preceded it. While their vocal harmonies started off spotty in songs like “My Love Won’t Wait,” even those resolved themselves later in the set, and you had to marvel at the kind of sound they could put out with just two people. Furthermore, (and perhaps most importantly) the crowd was never bored – I was able to witness one of the acoustic few stage dives in history that was fueled by the energy of the only acoustic song in the set. Pretty impressive.
With all that being said, Two Gallants may not be for everyone. Don’t expect lush soundscapes, or overly unique instrumentation. It’s bare bones folk-rock, but more gritty than you’re used to. It sounds like an action sequence in a Wes Anderson movie. It sounds like Neutral Milk Hotel before critical acclaim. It sounds like Glen Hansard in a bar fight. However, there is still an unmistakable emptiness in the recordings that (for me) had been filled only after seeing them live. Regardless of how you may feel about their music, it is impossible deny that they know what they’re doing, and they do it well. By sticking to the essential components of music – melody, harmony, and rhythm – they create something original and ultimately visceral that can’t be experienced anywhere but the room they’re playing in. So next time you see their name on a flyer in a coffee shop or some awful hipster blog, put on your best pair of hiking boots and go see Two Gallants!
By: Sid Vashi