San Francisco – This past Friday at San Francisco’s Fillmore, LA newcomers In The Valley Below were given the chance to stretch their legs and show their stuff as the opening act for fellow SoCal residents The Airborne Toxic Event on the first night of their tour together. They played a short, yet powerful, six-song set – featuring tracks from their 2014 debut album The Belt – to a rather enthusiastic crowd, immediately nurturing the building excitement for what the rest of the night would unfold into.
In The Valley Below is the name given to the project helmed by Angela Gail (vocals, keyboards, synths) and Jeffrey Jacob (vocals, guitar), who may or may not be romantically involved, although the mutual attraction they share onstage suggests the former. Throughout the indie band’s set, she would wipe the sweat from his forehead for him and bring his water glass to his lips, while he would eye her dotingly and flash her sideways grins. They spent most of their time onstage at each other’s sides, Gail draping her arms around her band mate during especially sensual moments of their unique blend of moody synths and hearty folk-rock.
The couple graced the stage around 9 PM – followed by their drummer Joshua Clair – amidst lavender pools of light, dressed in a fashion that called to mind a modernized version of American Gothic. Gail was draped in white cotton and lace while Jacob boasted a crisp white button-down shirt and pleated black slacks; their drummer was cloaked in black save for the vibrant red suspenders that outlined his muscular frame like an uncharacteristically tame Escher painting. They kicked off their set with the second single from their album, the thrashing call-to-arms anthem “Stand Up.” This boisterous, stormy single ignited the fuse that inevitably sparked the patient crowd’s gunpowder exhilaration, moving them into a fluid swaying motion that carried through the entirety of the opener’s set.
Following “Stand Up” came the synth-driven “Last Soul,” an elaborate piece that resounded so viscerally over the speakers that the vocals actually sounded like they were coming from behind the audience. “Last Soul” was followed by the deliberate march of “Searching For the Devil,” urging Gail to thrash a length of iron chain in percussive necessity, conjuring the image of prisoner slaves shuffling morosely down a dusty southern highway as her other half wailed into his microphone.
“Lover” came next – after a healthy dose of sultry rapport offered up by Gail, checking in to make sure we were still with them. Again the two main members folded over each other in blissful sensuality, echoing the enigmatic nature of their relationship through their swift instrumentation and warm vocal stylings.
The last two songs In The Valley Below performed for us turned out to be the first two tracks from their debut LP, respectively, the first being their simple, magnificent breakthrough single, “Peaches,” during which I heard an elated concert-goer exclaim, “this is the song I know!”
Their final song was the second track from The Belt, “Neverminders,” a detailed rock-fueled romp that encompasses the fascinating desperation of bands like Cold War Kids along with all of their own fantastic idiosyncrasies. That album is a sort of keystone that sets a fascinating tone that floats throughout their debut’s eleven tracks. Surprisingly – at least to me – after this song, their set ended, after only about thirty minutes of honestly enthralling music that had the most diehard Airborne Toxic Event fans thrashing about in unabashed bliss.
Being such a new band, it was not surprising that their live set was not overly polished– in fact, at the time of In The Valley Below’s synthesis, it was not their intention to ever play their songs live, though they eventually caved due to unexpected demand. That being said, however, their performance was intensely inviting and strong, and while I wish they had played longer, I have great confidence that grander sets by this band are on the horizon. Who knows, maybe The Airborne Toxic Event will be opening for them one day. To these eyes and ears, longevity is one thing In The Valley Below will undoubtedly achieve. This performance is one for the history books, an epoch that marks the beginning of a long and prosperous career.
Catch them with the Airborne Toxic Event on their North American tour through November 6.
Corey Bell
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