Ty Segall’s international tour with The Freedom Band took hold of New York City’s The Bowery Ballroom last weekend. Segall’s career as a leading psych-rocker in the underground scene has spanned over the past 10 years and morphed from fuzzy, low-key, and lo-fi to an ambitious, experimental, grizzly rock n’ roll sound. This tour, Ty Segall and The Freedom Band promised full album sets, providing a look-back into the catalog of Melted, Goodbye Bread, Emotional Mugger, as well as the Manipulator. Quip ventured out to last Thursday’s show for a revisiting of Goodbye Bread as well as a complete performance of his latest release.

The California rocker rang in the show with strong openers from his newest album, the strikingly guitar-less, First Taste.  Sonically, First Taste bears evidence from Segall’s classic inspirations of T. Rex and Zeppelin but manages to deviate from his previous repertoire into an almost clean edge. Without guitars, songs from First Taste take on more structure and form. The album lends itself a dynamism that is less widely featured in earlier releases, going from heavy rock tracks to lolling ballads and back again in just under forty minutes.

For the live play, the frontman did, in fact, indulge us with his guitar stylings, when he wasn’t seated at the drums. Segall plunged into heavy bangers “Whatever” and “I Worship the Dog” to get the crowd riled up for a rough start with riot moshing under red light. The Bowery Ballroom’s smoky open space encouraged the raucous audience to crowd surf and dive into the scuzzy jam sounds of prolonged instrumentals.

The light shifted with the mood and change of epoch as Segall and The Freedom Band geared up to play Goodbye Bread under flashes of blue light. Even from the balcony, audiences could be heard chanting along with lyrics from the 2011 release. Coincidentally, Goodbye Bread was the album that got me on Ty Segall in the first place when he played a festival in my hometown for the local radio. Playing live at the Bowery last week, he brought more electricity and rage into the garage album. Classics like the title track and the heavy “Where Your Head Goes” sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Ty Segall has a great reputation for his live shows, and there’s no question to the contrary. Segall brings that classic hard and fast garage punk energy to the scene onstage. If you missed his sets this round, rest easy – the prolific artist has been consistently putting out new music and touring since 2008. Five back-to-back double-album shows in Brooklyn last week prove Ty Segall has the stamina to keep our heads exploding, and shows no sign of letting up.

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Pickathon was unique in more than one way. To begin with, it carried a lot of weight in performances but only had an attendance of about 3,000 people, with a large percentage of that crowd being volunteers or people working the event. The group with which I arrived, for example, was a mix of press, vendors, and volunteers. Secondly, the festival took place on Pendarvis Farm and had a small carbon footprint, a rare occurrence these days. Here there were no throwaway cups or utensils. Thanks to Klean Kanteen and Bamboo Studio, for a small price you could obtain a stainless steel cup, reusable plates, and flatware.

Pickathon was also extremely family friendly and communal. For example, at the main stage, referred to as Mt. Hood, people left their blankets and chairs behind all weekend for anyone to use, while the children roamed the grounds at night in herds that resembled Lord of the Flies’. Pickathon’s crowning characteristic however, was its schedule. Every band played at least twice, so no longer did the music nerds had to lament over sacrificing one set for another.

Something else that Pickathon offered that most festivals don’t was small, intimate shows coupled with an interview at the Lucky Barn stage. Lucky Barn seated about forty-five people, give or take. I was fortuitous enough to squeeze my way into one of the most marvellous sets I’ve ever seen: Huun Huur-Tu, a Tuvan throat-singing band. Their voices sounded unearthly and the rudimentary-looking instruments produced some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.

Woods was another stage on the farm, decorated by an entanglement of branches it was named after fact that it was set back quite literally, in the woods. The trees provided shade and a nice reprieve from the heat that bled down on the festival-goers and there were hay bales set up in rows for those who wanted to sit (or stand on top of and dance). I caught the Meatbodies in all their thrashing glory on Friday evening here while on Sunday I gyrated my hips along to the disco-eqsue tunes of A-WA, Israeli sisters who sang traditional folk songs over electronic music. The whole crowd pulsated before my heat stroked eyes. That day we also caught Jay Som at the Tree Line stage, a beautiful wooden structure created by the PSU architecture students.

The next day all my dreams came true: I had personal run ins with Mikal Cronin, Ty Segall and Kyle Thomas. It took all I could muster not to cry as I told Mikal Cronin that MC111 is one of the most beautiful records I own. Although Thomas wasn’t playing the festival he was helping out several bands with their sound. Another rarity of Pickahon is that the musicians are mixed within the crowd, waiting around for pizza or tacos, so it was easy to seize a chance to say hello, I know I’m glad I did!

Later on, The Priests performed at the Galaxy Barn. Covered by hundreds of string lights the stage was a fitting accompaniment to the band roaring across it in colorful prom dresses. Ty Segall, who is a huge fan of Pickathon, closed out the festival at the end of the weekend. All things considered, trouncing in a pit to Pangaea was by far one of my favorite moments of the weekend, that and Mikal Cronin asking for my name during a handshake.

Pickathon, while not technically in Portland, embodied a lot of what the city epitomizes about it self: keeping things local, small, green, community-centric, and of course, weird. While you may not see the likes of Rihanna walking the grounds you also won’t be waiting in lines or having the equivalent of a football field between you and your favorite artist.

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The album and many corresponding parts to Emotional Mugger are unsettling. The video of the same title is grotesque, and the album is definitely a departure from his usual sound. Through the album there are synthesizers that are just, not quite on the mark. I say all of this with love though, the weirdness is welcomed. When Ty Segall first sent Emotional Mugger on VHS to many writers, he accompanied it with a note saying, “The over-communication relayed in cell based technology and content driven media further detaches passengers of our modern society from deep emotional understanding.” Basically we’ve been emotionally mugged by our dependency to these things and I honestly couldn’t agree more. I was lucky enough to grow up in a household and age frame where no one really had cell phones until they were about 16 or 17, while still young, we spent the first years of our lives having true human interaction. I think the whole point that Ty is trying to make is that we’re all uncomfortable around each other and it shouldn’t be that way, that is what is truly unnatural and freakish, so I think it makes sense that the sound matches.

Thalia Hall was a perfect venue. It used to be an actual theatre, so it’s constructed to amplify sound and I can say that was one of the loudest sets I’ve been at. Throughout the show Ty harkens back to the theme of Emotional Mugger. The show started with “Squealer” and Ty prancing out in a creepy baby/bald man mask and waving around a smart phone. The “muggers” are a powerhouse of present day rock; Mikal Cronin was on the bass, Kyle Thomas (also known as King Tuff) on guitar, Cory Hanson and Evan Burrows from Wand and Emmett Kelly were in the mix as well. Honestly an insanely talented group of musicians. The passion was palpable.

Let me now paint you a visual of how out there it got. Kyle and Ty were in these creepy, prisonesque jumpsuits (especially Kyle, his was orange) and Ty also brought out the umbilical cord, which he has done at many sets, another metaphor for our dependency. He kept giving speeches about his “mommy” and his “children,” just pure freakiness, all I’m sure, in some way or form, play into the motif he is trying to create and communicate. He has done an incredible job of staying true to the theme of this album. I love a man who commits.

During the set, Ty asked the crowd who wanted to be the lead singer, he chose a lucky young man named Sam. He told Sam there were only two rules. 1) He had to stage dive at least 3 times and 2) No Selfies (or emotional mugging). Sam hit the nail on the head.

Throughout the set, Ty lets all of the members have the spotlight. Mikal Cronin even whips out the saxophone. The show is almost ear splittingly sonic and it’s such a treat to watch all these musicians come together, although most of them have been playing together for more than a decade. I also think it’s great that Ty has taken the time to bring up the topic of our addiction to media and technology, while ALL of you are reading this on either a phone or computer, I hope that afterwards you’ll go outside and detach.

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Black Moon Spell is a thundering, rumbling labor of love and it’s just in time for Halloween. Put on your witch’s hat and bust our your tarot cards. Kyle Thomas use’s his guitar to evoke your sexual demons. On the track “Sick Mind” he literally howls like a werewolf while crooning about a succubus whom he may be in love with. This record is asking you to hump, while probably pouring hot wax on one another. “Rainbows Run” is about making someone orgasm. This is rock n’ roll like how Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin played rock n’ roll. The whole record is littered with ripping guitar solos and drums banged with urgency. King Tuff is not for the faint of heart. “Beautiful Thing” is an ode to band-aids (like Penny lane, man). “Black Moon Spell” is about blunts, babes, and the boogey man.  The track “Madness” sums it up pretty accurately with this verse; the rock n’ rolla/coco cola/makes me lose controla girls.

And it all kicks off with the title track, “Black Moon Spell” which features yet another lo-fi deity, Ty Segall. Remember how I told you to bust out the tarot cards? Well you might want to grab a chalice too because on the title track Thomas asks you to drink his witch’s brew. He also talks you on galactic ride in with “Staircase of Diamonds.” I love this whole record and I can’t stop playing it.

Bobby Harlow helped produced this album and did what he does best. Creates a big sound record without compromising the personality of the artist or stripping it of its true sound. Bobby isn’t afraid of lo-fi and along with Black Lips (separate but equal) has helped to create this genre. If King Tuff is a garage rock god, Bobby Harlow is out pastor. Deliver us from evil, Bobby.

Black Moon Spell is out September 23^rd. I suggest you pick this nugget up, burn some sage and pay homage.

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