Even during Gallo & Hull’s set-up and soundcheck, you could tell it was going to be a pretty informal set. Ron Gallo (of Toy Soldiers) got things started with a few solo songs, including a quick ragtime number, before inviting Jordan Hull on stage to finish the last verse of his own song that Gallo was covering. Next it was Hull’s turn to take the lead, who did two songs of his own before covering Gallo’s “Long Gone.” After that is when the real fun began, as Ron and Jordan played the bulk of the remaining show together (and also brought in a guest banjoist Noah Skaroff for a couple of songs), trading off each other’s songs.
Gallo’s Toy Soldiers play relentlessly in the Philly area, so it’s nice to see Gallo display his talents in a different setting. The show was clearly done with very little preparation, but that’s what made it a special thing to see. It was just two friends with a combined age around 45 having fun on stage in front of a bunch of their friends. As Ron himself accurately put it, it was like a “living room show,” it just happened to be in a bar instead. Gallo mentioned that Jordan had only came to town (he’s from Tennessee) the night before, so they only had one day to arrange and practice their set. And even though it was clear a full setlist hadn’t been written out before hand, the lack of practice didn’t seem to adversely effect any songs.
Prepared or unprepared, the two songwriters complimented each other very well, and their individual talents are undeniable. They have very different vocal styles, but both have great voices and they happened to meld pretty well together. It was fun to see what one could add to the other’s songs, but mostly it was just fun to hear great musicians singing great songs. When all was said and done, they had played more than 15 songs in about 75 minutes, finishing it off with a great cover of Jonny Corndawg’s “Keep Your Body Happy Through Exercise.”
