Live review: Ty Segall @ the Hi-Dive

Live review: Ty Segall @ the Hi-Dive

By | August 23rd, 2010 | 1 Comment »
San Francisco's garage-rock prodigy Ty Segall played to a less-than-full (but energetic) Hi-Dive last Thursday. Photo by Michael McGrath, denverpost.com/reverb.

San Francisco's garage-rock prodigy Ty Segall played to a less-than-full (but energetic) Hi-Dive last Thursday. Photo by Michael McGrath, denverpost.com/reverb.

Close to 150 people filled the awkward space that is the Hi-Dive on South Broadway Thursday night to hear San Francisco Bay boy Ty Segall play songs from his 2010 release, “Melted.”

A band of four took the stage just after 11 p.m., including mainstay-vixen drummer, Emily Rose Epstein, a pro guitarist and some doe-eyed blond girl who looked as if she had just hopped on tour that week. Fumbling through a fairly exhaustive sound check, Segall punctuated the moment by announcing, “Sorry, guys, I kind of broke my guitar last night.” Thankfully a guy from one of the three (yes, three) opening bands tossed him a guitar and the show began.

View a full photo gallery of this concert.

Careening into a 12-song set, the band played steeply while Segall shrieked, moaned and hiccuped lyrics, abusing the more tender, borrowed Squire while jamming down on pedals to achieve his brand of surf-meets-garage-rock-fuzz-toned distortion. Continually hurling ocular cues at bass girl to help her keep up, he stopped only to tweak with his tower of power and to dedicate the show to his mom and Aunt Cindy.

A grateful crowd moved their bodies, engaging in a bit of crowd jostling. A man from the front row hopped around on one leg, spraying beer into the gel-lit air.

Though Segall does pell-mell derivation well enough, the technical issues coupled with the litany of opening bands did me in. My wistful fantasy of a West Coast party in a salt-warped shack, cute sweaty people mashed together, would have to wait.

View a full photo gallery of this concert.

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  • Anonymous

    This Was A Great Show!

    So, the band performed “well enough”, but you had a subpar time because of too many opening bands? I guess you should blame the Hi-DIve. I got there halfway through the last opening band, and I thought it was awesome. My recollection was a normal-length sound check, follow by a couple songs (these were part of the set, not a s.c.) on his guitar that gave out, then a quick switch to the loaned guitar.

    I was glad to see more people there than at similar shows around town in the past year or so (Tyvek/So Cow, Vivian Girls, Box Elders/Fresh & Onlys, etc). I thought Ty and co. had great tunes, got the crowd moving, & played their instruments with a kind of skilled recklessness. The way I see it, they’re in contention for the mantle of “The New Sonics/Mummies” of this decade. One of the top 3 sets of the year, coming from a guy (Me) that goes to about 2-3 shows a month. Temperature-wise it was a cool night, sorry your perspiration-related fantasies had to wait for another time.