Ty Segall pushed the boundaries of his songwriting and his stylistic eclecticism on 2014's splendid
Manipulator, but while that album suggested
Segall could go practically anywhere he wanted creatively, there's clearly a part of the guy that just wants to turn up the amps and rock, and that man sounds like he's having a blast on
Live in San Francisco,
Segall's installment in the series of concert recordings released by
John Dwyer's
Castle Face label. This set is credited to
the Ty Segall Band, the lineup that recorded 2012's monstrously loud
Slaughterhouse; this live set isn't as seismic as that studio album, but it honestly rocks even harder and generates a tremendous supply of ear-kicking fun.
Segall and his bandmates were not afraid to stomp on their fuzz pedals or let loose with gales of feedback on this particular night, and though the melodic strength of
Segall's songs is still audible, the swaggering impact of the band's performance is the thing here, and even on plastic the over-the-top energy connects like a baseball bat meeting a fastball.
Live in San Francisco sounds like a frantic blowing session where
Segall and his bandmates are looking to draw sweat and move the crowd, and it's not hard to imagine that the audience must have been gloriously spent at the end of the night; this performance isn't much on fine details, but
Segall and Company get straight As in terms of delivering big, psych-damaged, garage-infused hard rock, and if you want to hear
Segall kick out the jams,
Live in San Francisco is exactly what you need. ~ Mark Deming