Tuesday night at the Troubadour was a garage rock and punk extravaganza as Ron Gallo and White Reaper came together for a memorable show.
Louisville legends White Reaper delivered exactly the high-intensity face-melter of a set one would expect. Highlights included “Judy French” and the title track from their 2017 release The World’s Best American Band which really got the crowd going and — since it’s LA — brought out all of the camera phones.
White Reaper has been tearing it up on the festival circuit with stops at Hangout and Bonnaroo already in the books. They’ll be playing the Dave Grohl-curated Cam Jam 17 this October in San Bernardino, and will also make stops at Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot, and Austin City Limits. Check them out when you can!
Closing out the evening was Ron Gallo — and he delivered. He was quirky, dynamic, fun, explosive, all of that. The music was blistering punk rock one moment, soft introspective indie the next, back and forth, swinging wildly through the night, making for an unpredictable and thrilling LA debut. Brief breaks occurred for excellent banter and, at one point, to chant OM with the crowd and get centered. At one point in time, Gallo even played some slide guitar…with a suitcase.
And nearly as much time was spent in the audience or running around the venue as it was on stage. Musical highlights included “Please Yourself” and “Don’t Mind The Lion” from 2017’s Heavy Meta, as well as two covers. One was an unexpected rendition of the ’90s Des’ree classic “You Gotta Be”, and the encore’s “Helter Skelter”. I am now counting down the days until Ron Gallo’s next show here in Los Angeles. You can also catch Ron Gallo at Lollapalooza and Voodoo Fest later this year.
Words and photos by Tim Aarons
