This show was one that I had been looking forward to for quite a while now for a number of reasons. The first was that I had been really into the Ty Segall albums that I’d been listening to over the summer. His take on psyched-out garage rock hit a really good spot in my body. When I saw that show come up on the calendar, I was excited to say the least. The benefits of this show only added up as it also gave me an opportunity to see Sam Locke-Ward live. While I’ve been moving around this town for a while, I haven’t had an opportunity to see SLW live, which is something that I’ve wanted to do since reviewing Barely Legal Beagles for Little Village.

Since he played first, I’ll start this recap with SLW. People are always wondering what rock and roll is and how someone embodies it. I still don’t have an answer to this question, but if I had to suggest to someone who’s pretty close to understanding it, I would point at SLW. He started off his set with a tallboy in his hand and was thrashing about the stage. In true rock style, he spiked the tallboy on the ground and proceeds to ask the audience to buy him another drink. These came in the form of a beer in a cup, another tallboy, and a shot of whiskey. I’m not mentioning this to make some sort of subliminal comment on his alcoholism but to display his awesomeness.

All of these drinks were at the front of the stage by his monitor. As Ward danced across the stage, stood on the monitor and even got into the audience while his band hammered out the groove, I kept an eye on those drinks at the front of the stage. Given the sheer intensity of his performance, I imagined that he would knock at least one over. He didn’t even come close. The music was awesome, but that stage performance was incredible. He took that shot during the middle of a song and came back in on time. His set was about 30 minutes, but it could have easily gone longer as he was totally killing it. People don’t become legends in places because they suck. SLW is clear proof of this. I highly recommend him to anyone who wants to see a solid live performance from someone who does it for the love of the music.

Another solid live performance came from the garage rockers Solid Attitude. If you are newer to Iowa City, the guys in Solid Attitude used to be in a different band called Viking Fuck. If you can believe it, Viking Fuck was more aggressive and confrontational than Solid Attitude. That band came out on this night. The drummer went back into classic VF mode, wearing only his boxers and socks while he thrashed. Lead singer Mickey took his shirt off and took it straight to the audience. Pushing through the audience and screaming out lyrics from his knees, Mickey just gave it to the audience in classic basement thrash style. Their brief set, as always, was invigorating, exciting, and a reminder that these kids totally rock.

Mikal Cronin came on with his band. Using a three-guitar attack (something that I haven’t seen in a while), Cronin and his homies attempted to drink a boot during their set (they didn’t finish, which was strangely disappointing to see from a bunch of rockers) and utterly killed it. Their music was lively, fresh, and sonically complex. Cronin played an acoustic guitar that was going through so much processing, it sounded surreal. I have no idea of how he figured that out, but it was really cool. The songs were furiously hammered out as if the band was going to die after the set, which is just always awesome to see from a fan’s perspective. If there is one real complaint that I would level against their set, it was the fact that there was a little too much guitar soloing for my taste. On a couple of the songs, it seemed a bit unnecessary to have a solo. They were solid solos, but it seemed slightly unnecessary. Then again, when the only complaint I can really make it is with regards to soloing, your set is actually pretty good.

The night ended with the headliner Ty Segall, and he did not disappoint. Starting off with the title track from his new album Goodbye Bread, Segall played songs from all over his catalog. At some point, he had to switch guitars because its electronics gave out on him. This guitar switch means absolutely nothing though in context of this show. Even using a different axe, Segall still shredded the stage, playing hard and sweating in his flannel. The audience, which was larger than some that I’ve seen at the Blue Moose recently, was fully into the show that Segall was putting on.

At the end of the night, I was glad that I had been looking forwards to this show for a while. Segall ripped. I didn’t know who Cronin was before this show started, but I certainly know now. I was reminded of why I always recommend Solid Attitude to anyone if I see them on a bill, and the magic that I heard on Barely Legal Beagles definitely comes out in the live show of Sam Locke-Ward. It was a good night for music and for Iowa City.