Ah, the two-piece band. While the White Stripes, the Black Keys, and Japanther have all made it socially acceptable to not have a bass player, that doesn't make it right! (Which I say as a bassist.)
Unfortunately, Two Gallants are yet another addition to this bass-less world, and again unfortunately, they're really good at it. Unlike the White Stripes or Black Keys, their drummer (Tyson Vogel) is as agile and accomplished as their guitarist and singer (Adam Stephens). What this translates into is a much more equal balance of power: Vogel's nimble drum parts complement and bolster Stephens' heavily distorted, folk-influenced guitar parts rather than weighing them down (as Meg White's drum parts tended to do in the White Stripes). They kick up a mighty noise, bass or not. The pair's latest, The Bloom and the Blight, is out on ATO Records.
Opener PAPA is a little more restrained -- there's less raw-nerve catharsis in their music and more finely-tuned detail. (The guitar line in "I Am The Lion King" will be lodged firmly in your head for years.) Check out the exuberant video for the song below: if their live show is half as fun as this song, you'll be well-served to check it out.
The music hall of Williamsburg is located at 66 North Sixth Street. Tickets are $20, and the show starts at 9 p.m. tomorrow.
