It’s a crisp, unusually clear September afternoon and we’ve just finished stuffing Segall’s grey Toyota Land Cruiser with as many amps, guitars, and boxes of vinyl as it can hold, three days ahead of a three-week, North American tour with fellow San Franciscan lo-fi love children Thee Oh Sees that starts in Las Vegas. “It’s comforting to live in a place where you can do whatever the hell you want and no one gives a shit, where no one’s judging.” He’s beaming now. He’s in tight black shorts and a black Dixie Cup sailor hat, proudly displaying a message hand-painted across his sleeveless sweatshirt: “Mitt Romney Is A Douche.” Segall and I repeat the phrase simultaneously inside the car, as the man vanishes into a corner store.

In fact it was the most enthusiastic crowd I've seen or been a part of in a long time.The conversation stops as a guy on roller skates glides across this intersection in San Francisco’s Mission District, just beyond Ty Segall’s dented SUV.

The band seemed to have limitless energy, and it spilled into the crowd instantly. Their entire set kind of melded into one long song, but in the best possible way.

On the contrary, this is about ratcheting up the tempo (as opposed to, say, slowing shit down and soloing and frolicking through meadows). Besides, the songs are only 'jam-y' in the sense that they're longer and perhaps a bit looser - the tunes never lose momentum. They're more jam-y live, which is a word I never thought I'd use positively, but these guys make me do and think weird things (have you seen me 'dance'?). The addition of Brigit Dawson on keyboards and vocals give Dwyer's yelps a little something extra - an added edge over typical garage rock vocals.Īs amazing as the recordings are, seeing Thee Oh Sees live is one of the things you should do before you die. The latest release is Putrifiers ii, which broke earlier this month. Dwyer has been releasing music solo and full-banded for about a decade and a half.

Thee oh sees ty segall tour