Los Angeles – Those that have followed garage-punk savant Ty Segall over the years may have noticed a recent trend in his live performances. His summer festival circuit stardom has brought with it a wave of Jonny-come-lately “scenester” fans who were perhaps a little too focused on his huge, retro-garage-pop choruses (“Girlfriend”, “Thank God For The Sinners”) and less on the nuanced folk, psych, and sludge sounds he injects elsewhere on his many, many albums. At times it seemed as if he did not completely enjoy himself out there, and was simply providing the requisite live shows necessary to support his true passion, recording his and others’ music at his studio here in Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock neighborhood.
Enter Fuzz: Segall’s egalitarian stoner metal side-project alongside Charlie Moonhart and Chad Ubovich. Yes, he sings on most songs and his drum kit sits center-stage at shows, but something about Fuzz feels less like “The Ty Segall Show” and more like a collaborative effort. Moonhart has been there alongside Segall his entire career; he spent time in Epsilons and The Ty Segall Band, as well as touring with another Segall-collaborator, Mikal Cronin. Chad Obuvich is no slouch either, having released one of this year’s most acclaimed neo-garage punk LP’s, the self-titled Meatbodies. This super-group setup gives Ty the chance to take a bit of a step back from the limelight, sit behind the drums, let his hair down (and up, and to the side – all over, really), and just rock out. With the insane amount of pedigree from its three prolific members, it only follows that Fuzz would crank out pulverizing, technical, and memorable songs at an impressive clip.
With Fuzz’s second full-length, II, just days from release, the band took the stage at The Regent in Downtown Los Angeles in support of legendary grunge band Mudhoney. After some struggles getting Obuvich’s bass rig properly set up, Segall charmingly stated, “Hi we’re Fuzz from right down the road” before the trio launched into the album’s first single, pummeling the crowd with a barrage of riffage. A short burst of guitar-solo-guided punk-metal, “Rat Race” was even more infectious in a live setting than it is in recorded form. As Segall became nothing but a blur of long blonde hair seated behind a drum kit during the Moonhart-sung track, anyone able to catch a glimpse of his face could see the priceless look on it: the joy of performing these songs was unmistakable.
Audience members did not have to wait long to get a taste of Fuzz’s shaggy-haired drummer on vocals. The third track on II, “Let It Live” came early in the set and provided the perfect mash-up of Segall’s twisty garage-pop earworms and Moonhart’s chunky, straight ahead metal-worshipping guitar riffs. As Segall’s solo material has drifted away from his punk roots and ventured into more moody songwriter fare, this may be music fans’ only chance to hear updated versions of songs like “You Make the Sun Fry” or “My Head Explodes”. “Bringer of Light” took that dynamic a step further – without the meandering metal guitar leads during the bridges, it could have been pulled straight from one of Segall’s recent releases.
At this point, the circle pit was relatively tranquil, but “Pollinate”, one of the most vicious tracks on II, changed all that. Mere seconds after Moonhart ripped out the song’s killer-but-quick solo intro, there was a clear demarcation among the audience – those that were there to get brutal and those that just wanted to watch the band do their thing. Luckily, the floor of The Regent is impressively large and slanted (as it is a restored movie theater from Downtown LA’s glory days) so those that wanted to avoid getting an elbow in the teeth could easily move to the side and still get a great view.
Other highlights of the 45 minute set included “Pipe”, with Ubovich’s eerily vintage, Black Sabbath era Ozzy Osbourne-esque vocals, the set’s epic closing instrumental number, and the quasi-Middle Eastern intro of “Say Hello”. By the time Fuzz’s night was over, audience members were thoroughly satisfied; alas, there was no time for relaxation as the Seattle underground stalwarts Mudhoney prepared to take the stage and start the cycle up once more.
Keep an eye out for II’s release this week, and keep an eye on In The Red Records’ tour page to get tickets to see Fuzz as they tour all over the United States.
Matt Matasci
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