Ty Segall Tears Down Terminal West

By Bobby WeisblattThe powers that be at Terminal West may very well have had to force Ty Segall to leave their venue, because had he kept playing much longer, the place might have been burned to the ground. This guy just goes that f--king hard.For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of knowing, Ty Segall is a band formed in Orange County, Calif. in 2008. Have you ever listened to the Traditional Fools, the Epsilons, Sic Alps, or Thee Oh Sees? Well if so, then you’ve heard Ty Segall, because he's played with all of them.This virtuoso guitarist and vocalist has dominated the indie garage rock scene from front to back, and at Terminal West, he proved that he demonstrates more intensity, rage, and pure fun, than the majority of his contemporaries.So there I was, standing front-row with great anticipation as Ty tuned his guitar and approached the microphone stand. He said a few brief words of thanks before exploding in “Thank God For Sinners” from his most recent album Twins.Within seconds, it became clear that at this show Ty Segall was going to crank up the volume and the speed, and the crowd responded with great intensity. Within the first minute there was a mosh-pit worthy of the greatest hardcore bands in recent years. A few minutes later, stage-dives became a commonality for both fans and band members. Both of these attractions kept up for the entire show.Usually, the grungy flair of Segall’s garage rock would lend itself to some steady head-banging and swaying; however, the bar for the show’s intensity was set from the very start and remained high the whole time.Ty played with his usual backup bassist and rhythm guitarists, as well as the exceedingly-lovely Emily Rose on drums. Her 90s punk-rock soul shines through her drum work as Ty and the guys put on the show in front of her.The performance became especially distinguished when, towards the end of the show, Segall announced that he was going to play a (well known) song entitled “Pretty Baby (She’s So Ugly).” For the night’s rendition of this song, Ty stepped back from the mic stand and invited a friend on stage from out of the crowd to sing vocals. The special arrangement made most of the crowd cringe, but what the substitute singer lacked in vocal quality, he made up for in showmanship tenfold. For the waning minute and a half of the song, this young kid proceeded to maintain the energy that Ty had been building the whole show and even burst through the threshold and expanded upon it. When he leaned off the front of the stage, screaming the lyrics, being supported by only those in the front of the crowd, he resembled none other than Henry Rollins in his prime.Ty Segall retook the reigns and finished strong with his hit “My Sunshine,” and an encore with some hard-rolling covers. By the end of the night, if you weren’t covered in sweat, you weren’t having a good time. It was just that kind of show.Terminal West is a great venue that is worth the hike to west downtown. A large ground floor and two balconies (one indoor, one out) provide multiple places to observe the action for those who aren’t looking to always be in the thick of it. The surprisingly-involved crowd and the accommodating venue made it clear that Atlanta’s garage rock community is still raging in full force and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.Ty Segall has been working his ass off putting out two albums in the past year and touring all the while. Do yourself a great big favor, and go see him play. His shows are cheap, he’s extremely talented, and he’s absolutely in his prime.