On Saturday, September 22, San Francisco acts Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees performed a sold out show at Brooklyn outdoor venue, The Well.
It was feeling far too yuppy and sterile at The Well on Saturday. The sound was in need of a kick-up during Thee Oh Sees, which they got by kindly asking, and there were lines everywhere. It felt nothing like a Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees show. It felt like a Doobie Brothers show. We've been on board with both bands since their fledgling states and we're damn proud to see how far they've come. There is nothing wrong with nearly a thousand people gathering in an industrial district of Brooklyn to see two of the best bands out of San Francisco. Validation comes to mind.
The ever-present frustration of knowing what's good for others because you've seen the light and it made you want to headbang and mosh and twitch and freak the hell out is alieviated for a few brief moments. It's happened. The Ty Segall Band and Thee Oh Sees will never go hungry again. The war on bad rock 'n roll was won. Then, comes the standing in line for a beer and the war ensues. It's a new front of cursing the yuppy who's roughing it with a PBR and impeding your every step. They clog access to dance pit ahead and you stand far back, watching a waving crutch, knowing your not where you belong. You still twitch some, because Thee Oh Sees are playing “I Was Denied” and you just can't help yourself.
Then the rain came. It was a light kiss on the forehead at first. Then, it poured. It poured like a gift from the rock gods. Those who feared melting fled to dry regions or commited the ultimate concert sin of coming prepared with an umbrella (oh lord, I can hear the pre-show talk of “hun, my doppler AP says there's a 40 percent chance of rain. We better pack the ponchos and umbrella in our tote” and I cringe). Those who did not fear the melt, some because they were already on that brain melt, took to the elbow room with reckless joy. Heads began to swing more viciously as even the dampened short hair became headbang worthy, arms were raised to the heavens to welcome the heavier downpours and The Ty Segall Band made a cover of “That's The Bag I'm In” their prison bitch. What once was a Park Slope date night concert was now a wet and wild freak out. If you stuck it out in the rain, you were legit. You were there and it went down and since no one was struck by lightning and the medics took care of that one fallen babe, you lived to tell about it.
