Ty Segall at Unit, March 1st 2018

I’ve moved around a lot, all my music collection is stored in a hard drive, but wherever I go I always bring the first two Nuggets boxsets with me. To me it sounds kind of derogatory to just label that Lenny Kaye compilation as “primal”, because it shouldn’t be viewed as a relic. Those two compilations managed to encapsulate an energy that is representative of rock music of both old and new.

Throughout his career Ty Segall has followed that example. Keeping with the Nuggets parallel, his records are like compilations based on their eclecticism. His latest one, for example, has influences ranging from soul, proto-metal, the British invasion, psychedelia and Neil Young-isms. Freedom’s Goblin is the title and it was showcased at this Tokyo show.

It was announced as his first ever in Japan. The opening bands was labelmates The Silence, a foursome lead by Masaki Batoh, previously from Ghost. The bass was really high in the mix and the songs were all in the same mid-tempo, but nonetheless the band delivered, especially with the last number when they tried a free jazz type of improv with the baritone sax blasting over a swing drum pattern. 

After they finished, the PA system played The Stooges Fun House, which I thought it was an excellent idea to have the whole album played whiled they were prepping the stage. There was no need, by the time 1970 was over. Ty Segall and the Freedom Band were on stage. They started with two songs from the latest album: “Alta” followed by “Fanny Dog”. 

They then played a couple of songs from the Muggers album that sounded looser than they do on the record. In the middle of the set they extended songs to long jam sessions that somewhat lacked some of that tightness expected, especially after hearing stuff like “And, Goodnight” from the latest. Having said that, when the band’s on their on. Mikal Cronin did an amazing job on alto saxophone as well. Ben Boye’s Fender Rhodes at times sounded as a guitar and the vocal harmonies from Cronin and Emmett Kelly were on point. By the way, Charles Moothart is an amazing drummer, it was cool to see a bit of a drum solo in a garage rock show.

The musicianship on stage is of the highest caliber and the musicians themselves are very charismatic, but on this show there was a bit of a lack of rapport between the band and the audience. The reason I’m saying that is because the legendary mosh pits and crowdsurfing were completely absent here. That might’ve affected the outcome and Tokyo had a great show rather than an extraordinary one.

For an encore they played “You’re the Doctor” and “She” delivering a 100 minutes of music in total. Some people label Ty Segall as an artist that’s a throwback to a different era, I’d say his as contemporary as they come. In Freedom’s Goblin he covers a song from Hot Chocolate a UK multirracial queer disco band from the seventies. In this America-first-DT era, Ty Segall tells us that “Everyone’s a Winner”. That’s a political statement that I applaud.