Ty Segall Is Keeping Punk Alive
Ty Segall at Club Soda, Montreal Quebec during POP Montreal 2014. Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo
Of all of the concerts at POP Montreal, there was one garage punk show that I couldn’t miss. Ty Segall played at Club Soda on Saturday night, and it was one of the most “punk” shows I have been to in a while. This show really reminded me why I used to exclusively listen to punk music – the community involved is amazing. At this show, one of the things that really blew me away was how amazing the crowd was. As Ty became more and more anticipated, we became closer as a crowd – fused by the desire to see the musician by the time he started playing things got crazy.
Ty Segall at Club Soda, Montreal Quebec during POP Montreal 2014. Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo
The energy of the night was amazing. The temperature in the venue was high, and the energy exchange between the band and the audience was palpable. Every note played may not have been exactly on time or perfectly in tune, but this just made the live performance more enjoyable. It’s always fun when you’ve got loud garage punk music blasting and you’re covered in sweat from everyone around you.
Ty Segall at Club Soda, Montreal Quebec during POP Montreal 2014. Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo
This brings me back to the point about the punk community. Maybe punk is not as “hard core” as it used to be, but artists like Ty Segall are keeping it alive. The importance of this kind of music is to remind kids that there is something important about going to a show, making new friends, hearing amazing music. Segall’s music is not something to sit still to, and it is definitely the kind of music you need to hear live.
What made this even more special, is that Ty Segall could easily be from Montreal (He’s actually from California). From his seemingly magical silver eye makeup to the stars and moon on his pants, he definitely is comfortable in the Montreal scene. As a part of POP Montreal, I feel like his faux-Montreal style has been further solidified. Segall owned the stage, clearly being comfortable in front of the crowd and he really rocked throughout the night. Perhaps he felt more comfortable in the crowd as he dove from stage to crowd a few times. My favourite thing about the show is that Segall seems like a pretty stand-up guy. There are some artists that take their personas too seriously and Segall was able to be cool but not seem like an asshole.
The night was amazing, and I have to thank POP Montreal for bringing together such amazing artists with such a diverse audience.
