Two Gallants/Sam Champion/Cold War Kids @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC 4/24/06

3:05 PM EDT on May 1, 2006

Every so often, a band you think you have pegged will evolve from a plain old "good act" to an absolute force of nature. And for some reason, you'll beam like a proud papa. Last Monday, Bowery Ballroom's lineup featured three bands worth knowing ... but there was really only one set to remember. Meet Sam Champion.

These local boys straight up rock. Drawing on Neil Young -- with moments of Malkmus and Levon Helm -- Sam Champion feel fresh in the face of post-punk plenitude. Their tunes are the type to drink to, but even the sober set will see a glimmer of greatness stirring in these simple chord structures. There's the Crazy Horse dramatics of "Mexican Rags," the bombastic major-chord rock of "Jealous Shakes," and the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain nod of "TV Fever." Distorted guitar jangles, driven by a disarmingly tight rhythm section and Noah Chernin's affected alt-country twang. The band's live show feels loose, but it pounds with precision. Nothing they've set to tape quite captures the Sam Champion experience, but a new record is slated for early '07. And it's gonna be a killer. If you're in New York, take any chance you have to see 'em (next NYC date is 5/18 @ Southpaw). If not, be patient. They're young, and they're coming to you soon.

California's Cold War Kids made their NYC debut with a promising early set. I like their MP3s more than I did their Bowery gig, but I have a feeling they're gonna burn down Pianos this week. Two Gallants headlined the show, and the last time I'd seen their indie folk-punk was at a day party down in Austin. Faces were melted and scotch was swilled. They were burning, they were hungry, and they sounded like a two-man wrecking crew. Can't say the same for the Bowery show though, where nothing felt quite right. The songs came off as formulaic -- only the capo settings and lyrics seemed to change. "Long Summer Day" was real (and justified the brutal pit) but the rest of the night felt forced. Or, maybe just a casualty of following an opening band on fire. I walked into Bowery with hopes for a trifecta. I walked out a Sam Champion fan.

After the jump, pics of all three bands, and a Champion MP3.

TWO GALLANTS