Concert review: Ty Segall & Freedom Band at The Orange Peel
Jack White recently announced that phones would not be allowed during his next run of tour dates, which reach Asheville in September. The stated intention is to improve the level of engagement that his shows will have with audiences, but in the grand scheme of things, phones are only a minor distraction for a showgoer. If an artist really wants to improve the concert experience, they might want to try gagging audience members; few things can disrupt the bonding vibe between artist and audience faster than background chatter.
On June 22, this matter couldn’t have been more evident during the opening set by California-based singer/songwriter Shannon Lay. Beginning her set with a gorgeous cover of Karen Dalton’s “Something On My Mind,” Lay did everything she could to win over the audience. Despite her best efforts, the chatter of a crowd anticipating Ty Segall’s forthcoming rock explosion became a hindrance to my own engagement with Lay’s performance.
Midway through her set, Lay tamed the noisy crowd with a stunning acapella version of her own song, “Awaken and Allow.” She maintained concertgoers’ attentions with a faithful rendition of Elliott Smith’s “Angeles,” but as more people filtered in to the room, the chatter returned. Even a cover of the Velvet Underground classic “I’m Set Free” couldn’t get the culprits to shut up. Despite the rude characters within the crowd, Lay remained composed throughout her lovely set. Before wrapping up, she stated, “You’re all about to get your faces melted. I’m just here to ease you into the show.”
There’s no doubt that such results were a collective goal for the audience in attendance. Is there any other reason to see Ty Segall & The Freedom Band?
The mug-alterations, however, didn’t immediately commence upon Segall’s arrival to the stage. With an acoustic guitar in hand, he quickly launched into a stripped-down version of the usually raucous garage-rocker “Squealer.” Things remained uncharacteristically tame as Freedom Band bassist Emmett Kelly joined Segall to perform the next few songs as an acoustic duo.
Camera in hand, awaiting Segall’s trademark thunder, I began to wonder whether or not the crowd would be left with faces intact after all. Fortunately, that was not the case. Once Freedom Band cohorts Charles Moothart (drums) and Ben Boye (Rhodes piano) joined in, Segall and Kelly grabbed their electrics and plugged in, transitioning the set into a gratifying nonstop barrage of distortion fuzz and feedback.
The scorching set of heavy psych garage rock primarily consisted of songs from Segall’s forthcoming album, Hello, Hi, and 2016 fan favorite, Emotional Mugger, and the band needed zero gimmicks to capture the full attention of the Orange Peel crowd. The Freedom Band’s uniquely twisted combo of Black Sabbath’s heavy psych slugdge and the glam pop hooks of T. Rex was more than enough to get folks to keep their phones in their pockets and give in to their rock ‘n roll master for the night. By the time the ensemble ripped through a climactic, revved-up version of “Breakfast Eggs,” eyes, noses, chins, cheeks, and everything in between were dripping to the floor, like lava oozing down the side of a volcano. Ty Segall had indeed melted our faces.
(Photos by Jonny Leather)
