Show Review: Thee Oh Sees @ La Zona Rosa (9/15)

You’ve probably seen this headline on our site many, many times before, but we’re always more than happy to spend our night watching two of our favorite bands, Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees.  A couple of great local opening acts added an extra touch of class to the night.

Read on for photos and reflections.

Unfortunately, we were running a bit behind, so we missed Gal Pals, but I’ve seen the group, and they always do good work.

Fleshlights are one of the many great bands in Austin that you need to keep an eye upon.  Honestly, they gave the crowd an edgier view of their punk rock on the evening, with some of their poppier tunes left out of the set, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t love it.  They closed out the night with drummer Elissa stalking the stage as the singer, which was a nice little touch to the band’s short time on stage.

Photog’s Note: The reason she was up front to sing lead was to belt a cover of Suicidal Tendencies‘ “Institutionalized”. All of my shooting-at-the-stage bruises were collected during that one song. She had already busted her snare early in the set, and so she is my favorite drummer in Austin right now…

Ty Segall was up next, banging it out as he always does.  No matter how often he plays, you know you have to see him.  I was surprised at how many stage-divers took to the stage, but the group handled it gracefully, encouraging everyone to have a good time.  Ty and Mikal have an incredible live energy, and they work so well together on stage that anyone in the audience is bound to be impressed.  In contrast to the group’s show at Mohawk earlier in the summer, Ty’s voice sounded great, while the guitars seemed a bit low in the mix.  It was a different sound, yet it came off great, as it always does.

Photog’s Note: Ladies, don’t wear flip-flops in the pit. Warning: A gnarly injury during the Ty set is in the gallery.

Thee Oh Sees closed out the raucous evening at La Zona Rosa in their renown fashion, with John Dwyer’s distinctive guitar styling always a great highlight.  They were super energetic from the start, perhaps being fueled into a frenzy by the audience’s participation.  They went all through their catalogue, including a few tunes from their recent Putrifiers II–I’m still really enjoying that record.  Again, the group are perhaps one of the most enjoyable live acts, and I know from the friends that came with me that they all felt the same, even the few newcomers who had yet to catch the band live.  If you’ve got a chance in the future, definitely mark these folks as a must see act.

Check out Brian’s shots, and there’s more over at the Photo Site.