Ron Gallo, TWEN, and Ian Ferguson at The Royal American (Photos + Review)
On Thursday, November 15th, Ron Gallo’s Stardust Birthday Party Tour came through Charleston for a wonderful evening at The Royal American. Sometimes when bigger bands come through Royal, they are apprehensive about playing on that small stage, but Ron Gallo was not one of them. Ron Gallo and his band loved every minute of it, even stopping at one point to thank the crowd for “the best night of the tour”. That’s the kind of shit that we love to see here at Extra Chill.
It was truly a Nashville night in Charleston, with all three bands on the bill bringing their own twist on the famous Nashville rock n roll sound. TWEN kicked things off with an animated, psychedelic set that helped to get everyone ready for what exactly we were about to witness. Then newcomer Ian Ferguson hopped up there and kept that wave of excitement rolling through the bar.
Ron Gallo set up as a four-piece, with keys and drums on the stage, and guitar and bass on the floor in front of the stage. The crowd circled in around the band, so the people in the front were no more than two feet away from the musicians down in front.
And thus commenced the greatest rock show that I have seen at The Royal American to date. I saw Ron Gallo at Bonnaroo in 2018, and it was definitely a good show, but it did not compare even remotely to the intimate setting and liveliness of that Royal American show. Ron Gallo at The Royal American was so much more epic than Ron Gallo at Bonnaroo.
The vibe in there was that of a packed-out house show, with hundreds of sweaty people (even on a cold mid-November night) pushing and jumping around while the band grabbed the attention of everyone present. I don’t want to say it, but I think this one tops my former favorite Royal American show, which was Zack Mexico, ET Anderson, and Secret Guest on Sunday, December 11th, 2016.
Mia Naome Al-Taher was in the mix that night with her
Ron Gallo
TWEN
Ian Ferguson
All photos by Mia Naome Al-Taher.