San Fransisco indie-folk-blues-mongers Two Gallants are in town and are hoping for no repeat of recent Houston gig where an over zealous southern copper, in the ‘`Respect My Authorotah’ mould, tazered Lead-Gallant Adam after a complaint about the noise escalated. Towards the end of this lifeless gig my sympathies are drifting as we could do with the cattle prod of justice into the testicles of tedium to liven things up.
The slightly self-indulgent tone of the performance is set from the outset as 2gs make heavy weather of folksy opener ‘`Heavy Rollin’. Building exceptionally slowly, the arrangement (which through no fault of it’s own is desperate to turn into Living Next Door to Alice by Smokie!) eventually crawls from silence into a mildly enjoyable roll. The largely young and impossibly reverent Tut’s crowd are immediately more engaged than myself and even shush a couple of less interested punters.
The musicianship of the duo, in the now familiar Jack-and-Meg-guitar-and-drum dogma, is without question. The melodic arrangements are impressive and have a welcome Celtic feel, but the intensity of second album ‘`What the Toll Tells’ is not communicating. The dark lyricism (‘`I awake on the floor with my country at war and I wish I could care but my liver’s too sore’` My Madonna) is not ragged enough and this performance sadly feels more like a dull lecture than the event it should be.
A rip-roaring Las Cruces Jail apart, there is none of the fury that makes the punk-folk of the likes of Sons and Daughters so appealing and perhaps not enough warmth in this live show to capture my emotions.
Cold War Kids stoke up support and operate from a similar indie-blues-rock palette as 2GS but take it to a much more rewarding place. Soulful piano driven bass-lines alternate with the twanging lead guitars and conjure up the vibe of a group made entirely of smiley Jeff Buckleys. Amidst the deserved buzz, they confidently swagger like a gang that’s going places. With no police intervention the only shock tonight is that they’re almost certainly holding back to avoid zapping their hosts out the water.
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