Set opener “Queen Lullabye,” off of 2013’s Sleeper revved up the climactic rave-up even further, becoming like an old-fashioned wooden roller coaster on the verge of collapse. Some performances even managed to surpass their recorded versions, or at least manage to rival them. It just makes you want to run home and bust out your Ty Segall records, which is the mark of a truly successful performance in-and-of-itself. While you miss the sweet, sweet solo he can bust out with a rhythm section, the stripped-down version is utterly lovely, all on its own. Take “Goodbye Bread,” off of his 2011 album of the same name, which replaces the woozy Beatlesesque psychedelia of the electric version with a sweet, tender ballad, reminding us that two or three chords, a whole bunch of heart and even more imagination is all you really need to make music soar.

While it would be easy to miss some of Segall’s signature sheets of sound and fuzz, the stripped-down format just further emphasized his charms, as well as his strengths as a musician. Segall’s set drew upon his entire sprawling back-catalog, including his work with the Ty Segall Band.

Segall was touring ostensibly in support of his newest all-acoustic release Hello, Hi, which found him confronting himself during the height of the pandemic, as well as his Laurel Canyon forebears. Despite these limitations, or perhaps partially even somewhat because of them, the ever-prolific (and always reliable) Segall managed to transport a nearly-capacity crowd beyond a miserably cold, wet night with his signature Southern California warmth, charm and weirdness. With only one microphone and a PA stack beneath an awning, some backyard BBQs are more high-tech. This is triply true for a performance like Ty Segall’s set on an outdoor stage behind Austin’s Hotel Vegas, with absolutely zero production values. They’re the musical equivalent of minimalist, modern theater – like a two-person Samuel Beckett existentialist psychodrama – with nowhere to run and even less places to hide. Solo acoustic shows are performing on hard mode.

Ty segall tour 2022