Ty Segall - Wand -- 9:30 Club - Sep 15 2014

By Kyle Schmitt

Wand - A spare drum kit was shoved to the front of the stage despite the headliner’s kit not even being assembled. Four guys came out to begin and end their first song with white noise, throwing in a noisy screech mid-tune for consistency’s sake. The singer/guitarist and drummer seem to drive this train, to the extent that Wand almost seems like two separate units (this may be due to the singer standing stage left, territory Ty Segall himself would later claim). Traditional song structure was thrown out for this set, as the singer only spoke when he had something to say. Wand possesses an insistent quality to their music, and sparsely applied vocal melodies and guitar shimmers augment an unrelenting sound. Their set ended with accordant heaviness and the drummer bashing his ride cymbal like an eight-year-old killing a piñata. 

Ty Segall - With his band looking vintage western glam, Segall kept the crowd physically engaged throughout his set. His four-piece tore into “Susie Thumb” and “Thank God for Sinners”, inspiring handclaps and eventually much stage-diving. Maintaining fire throughout his performance, Segall makes it through at least one verse per song before succumbing to his id and facing side-stage to launch another joyous solo. Segall took on a directorial role with some fans, plotting the journey of one crowd surfer from the front of the stage to the venue’s rear, and then rooting on the man’s subsequent return with cries of “Bring him back!” He concluded his encore by thrashing through “Girlfriend” and - what else? - completing his third stage dive of the night. While the man has released enough material that even the great Manipulator isn’t necessarily a career peak, Segall ensures that anyone who catches him live will stick around for his next move.

Esoterica: While others were throwing their bodies off the stage, one enterprising fan tossed a notebook at the band. According to Segall, “I would read it out loud, but it’s personal.” … His “manager” Jimmy introduced the band onstage, claiming he discovered the band in a Jupiter saloon and paying tribute to DC owning his favorite basketball team, the Washington Generals …