[Day 3: 2013] Two Gallants

Band Memebers: Adam Stephens: guitar/harmonica/vocals | Tyson Vogel: Drums/ vocals

    I can still recall the day I first heard The Throes (AKA Two Gallants first record). I had never heard of them before when I had ordered it. I had always gotten long lost gems from BOMP! Records when I ordered from them. I loved that label. They told me to take a chance on that album and that I wouldn’t regret it. I ordered two copies, one for the store, one for me. Sandwiched in between Flaming Groovies and Swell Maps albums was The Throes.  It was a rough night, the night before. I was
hungover and almost sick. I was alone in the store when the needle dropped.  It was supposed to be folky, almost bluesy they told me. I figured I was getting into some John Fahey territory, perfect for dealing with that mess. What I didn’t expect was for the inherent bash and pop that made up that album.  From the opening track You Losin’ Out through the next hour, I started to fall in love with an album. Each song seamed flawlessly with the last, making a cohesive record (and one of the best debuts I had heard in a long long time).

               

    Adam and Tyson have been childhood friends since the age of five. Starting to make music when they were twelve and somewhere along the way, Two Gallants (the name taken from James Joyce’s The Dubliners) was born, starting to use the name while playing in their hometown of San Francisco. Years of touring behind
two self-released cd’s and playing basements and kitchens when they graduated to playing clubs after the release of 2004’s The Throes.  In the early part of 2006 they released their first in a pair of albums, for Saddle Creek, What The Toll Tells.  Signing with brought more exposure and opportunity for the band, finally touring Europe. The next record recorded for Saddle Creek, Two Gallants.

    You get tired of people. It happens. Everyone needs a break if they spend 24 hours a day around someone. Now multiply that by years and a hiatus was bound to
happen. Both Stephens and Vogel released solo albums, We Live on Cliffs (Stephens) and Devotionals (Vogel).
 

    Surviving a van crash and being tazed (and one member being subsequently arrested) for a noise complaint, in Houston, I was shockedto see a new album, outta the blue. Hiatus was over and they had signed with ATO and releasing The Bloom And The Blight in August of 2012. In the ten
songs you hear a more polished Two Gallants. Gone are the days of the pseudo-Americana. The blues laden tracks of years gone by are replaced by a more Appalachia
downhome back-country feel.

               

But let’s face it. It’s a great album to crack open a beer to.

Setlists:
A look at the two most recent shows will show what the setlists are playing these days.
Feb 9th : Northcote Social Club, Northcote, Australia[/b][/size]
Dying Crapshooter's Blues (Blind Willie McTell cover)
My Love Won't Wait
Despite What You've Been Told
Ride Away
Steady Rollin'
The Hand that Held Me Down
Las Cruces Jail
What the Toll Tells
Broken Eyes
Cradle Pyre
Halcyon Days

Feb 2nd : The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA
Dying Crapshooter's Blues (Blind Willie McTell cover)
My Love Won't Wait
Despite What You've Been Told
Winter's Youth
The Hand that Held Me Down
Steady Rollin'
Ride Away
The Prodigal Son
Las Cruces Jail
Untitled
Broken Eyes
Cradle Pyre
Halcyon Days
Encore:
Waves of Grain
Song of Songs
Nothing to You

Discography:

The Throes

My Madonna

Two Days Short Tomorrow


What The Toll Tells

Las Cruces Jail


Two Gallants

Despite What You’ve Been Told


The Bloom & The Blight


Halcyon Days

Winter’s Youth

For shiz and giggles:

Dying Crapshooters Blues

Interesting Facts:
*The children on the cover of The Bloom & The Blight are in fact Adam and Tyson.