Worth the Drive: Ty Segall at the Echo

Okay, yes, the official end of summer is upon us — kids have gone back to school, your friend’s friend is throwing a white party that he swears is gonna be a rager. But before you go lamenting the loss of your suntan and your freedom, we suggest one last road trip, for rock ‘n’ roll’s sake.

Starting Thursday night and stretching through Sunday of this weekend, Los Angeles garage rock messiah Ty Segall is at the Echo in Echo Park for four back-to-back headlining shows. In other words, it’s time to shred all your summer bummers away.

The weekend (we’re affectionately referring to it as “Ty-palooza,” but call it what you will) comes in sweet harmony with the release of Segall’s latest, Manipulator, which dropped this week via Drag City. Like past outings (and there are many), Manipulator is overflowing with crunchy riffs, walls of distortion, and more ‘70s classic rock references than you can shake a stick at. Better yet, its unprecedented (for Segall) 17 tracks make the whole thing feel downright sprawling — a welcome change from his prolific, but often gone-too-soon-feeling back catalog.

As for the live show, all we can say is expect a party — a packed, sweaty, scorching-guitar-soundtracked party. What better way to say “bye-bye” to summertime, right?

4•1•1:

Ty Segall plays the Echo (1822 Sunset Blvd.) on Thursday, August 28 (with Meatbodies and Birth Defects), Friday, August 29 (with Wand and Endless Bummer), Saturday, August 30 (with Zig Zags, Vial, and Shark Toys), and Sunday, August 31 (with Jack Name and Prettiest Eyes). Visit theecho.com for tickets and info.