Ty Segall Live @ Royale Boston, MA [06-27-22]

Praise the powers that be, I think I finally understand Ty Segall. I’ve been listening to the man’s records for ten years and think I finally get him. Not that he was that much of a mystery to begin with. He’s a garage-god, yes. He’s hyper-prolific, sure. He’s handy with the axe, definitely. I think it can be said that his records are very good, but with the exception of Manipulator, I don’t think any have quite stuck with me. I’m not the only one either. His albums are widely celebrated, but he doesn’t exactly have a masterpiece. Not that that matters when you consistently put out good music. But, I think the man puts out so much music that it’s hard for a fan to sit back and digest: you don’t have time to think about what you just ate when the next course is right in front of you. And for someone who is constantly listening to new music, Ty Segall remains enjoyable and elusive.

But the live show? NOW it all makes sense.

I say this because it became slowly but clearly evident in his live show that there has been no sonic format invented yet that can contain Ty Segall’s music. Meaning, the live show is such a massive event that it just doesn’t translate to a recorded album. I don’t know why it’s taken me 10 years to realize this.

I love how post-pandemic shows are starting earlier. What a great thing it is to have Ty Segall go on at 9 and have him be done at 10:40. It was a beautiful touch to have him come out solo with an acoustic guitar and play solo renditions of his classics and what I assume are new songs, only to have the band slowly come in and join him into the full bacchanalia that is the garage rock Ty Segall band. Ty Segall songs sound straightforward but let me tell you, they are complicated, with endless riffs, noise, noodling, doodling, breaks, pickups, and harmonies. But you know what? They did it all perfectly and absolutely blew the house down. I knew they were playing songs I had forgotten but it didn’t matter, because the noise and execution was spell-binding. Maybe the sound system at the Royale helped, but this was the record version of Ty Segall turned up 10 more notches. Seeing the man (or not seeing him, because he had his back turned away from the right side of the stage the entire show) scorch through his songs with perfect delivery and elevating them into the ionosphere was amazing in the truest sense of the word. That made the performance of the songs I DID recognize even more meaningful.

Ty Segall will never stop and you should do yourself a favor and go see him live. The world was a worse place when he couldn’t tour, and that has been rectified. He’s a master of guitar and the stage. There’s nothing out there like him. Make sure you stand where you can see him. But if you don’t, I bet you’ll still get your face blown clean off. Wow, what a show.

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