Two Gallants @ Bonnaroo (NY Times)

Bonnaroo: Saturday Bands So Far
By JON PARELES

The Wood Brothers
Two Gallants
Mason Jennings
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Against Me!
Little Feat
Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet
Ozomatli
Gogol Bordello

I was happy to see for the first time Two Gallants, a San Francisco duo; singer/guitarist Adam Stephens and drummer Tyson Vogel. The inevitable White Stripes comparison applies to the way the songs get all worked up from calm openings to a pounding beat and a serrated edge to Mr. Stephens’s voice. But trade the White Stripes’ blues for Irish folk roots, throw in a gift for Dylanesque imagery and replace bravado with self-loathing and regret–though not enough regret to prevent his next transgression–and Two Gallants end up someplace entirely different. In their songs, insight and well-turned phrases are no match for human flaws. - NY Times