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■ Ty Segall
Ty Segall is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his solo career, during which he has released seventeen studio albums alongside various EPs, singles, and collaborative albums. Segall is also a member of the bands Fuzz, Broken Bat, the CIA, GØGGS, Wasted Shirt and Freckle. He is a former member of the Traditional Fools, Epsilons, Party Fowl, Sic Alps, and the Perverts.

It was a bit of a quiet night in downtown Minneapolis. Both of the playoff sports teams (hockey and basketball) had late games in other cities, and with surprisingly few shows at adjoining venues, it felt a little deflated on a quiet Monday. Contra to all that quiet, it was going to be a night of sweeping rock vistas with Ty Segall headlining at First Avenue.

The opener was Mod Lang, a Detroit based quartet (two vocalists on guitar, bass, and drums) is relatively new with an EP and now a full length album, Borrowed Time, released in February 2026. They have a late 60’s / early 70’s pop rock revival feel and that album specializes in the power pop feel. Our first lead singer was sporting the aesthetic with black full length shirt and the wide flared jeans. That opener, What I Can’t Have was nearly pitch perfect for that pop rock sound, with good guitar hooks and up to three vocalists going. Immediately after, we had a malfunctioning guitar and during the exchange (thanks First Avenue staff!) we were told this was Mod Lang’s first time in Minneapolis and bassist Ava East promised “this will be my last night of stand up”. With things patched up, we had change of lead singer and they got back into those clever guitar chords, and their nervousness over the equipment snafu was long past. Without You almost had an early era Beatles teen heart throb sound to it and Mod Lang’s front pair of Antonio Keka and Alex Belfie played very well off each other vocally and on guitars. It was a pretty good 1-2 punch, but the triple harmonies in a late song (I think it was Without You) were pure bliss, and several complicated key changes within the song were masterfully handled. TV Star had a shredder of an ending and the musical chops were there. Finishing up the set with their longest unbroken run, including a couple of false endings, Mod Lang had brought a bright retro rock sound to their set, and it will be fun to see how the band evolves from here.

Ty Segall is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in California. I’ve used the word prolific before when describing different musicians, but Segall has certainly earned the title as well. Since his self titled debut album in 2008, he’s averaged nearly an album per year, and that’s just as a solo artist. He’s also variously been part of bands both current (Fuzz) and disbanded (Sic Alps). I love that he’s had three or four different named backing bands in his nearly twenty years, and the current one is the Freedom Band. He’s often categorized as indie or psych rock, but he has songs all over the rock map. His most recent album, Possession, was released in May 2025. The opening cacophony of guitars in the near dark was a great start, and when the light came up we saw the quintet (vocals/guitar, guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums) take off on Feel, with several harder edged guitar instrumentals and a lot of pedal work out of the gate. The band arrangement on stage was almost a U or really more of a checkmark shape with one guitarist at the very far front edge. It also had Segall turned 90 degrees from the audience, though he turned about in every direction imaginable. Any notions of a tamer evening (some of his more recent albums has been a bit more subdued compared to earlier ones) were thrown out the window and Segall and band were sizzling. Possession was “a song about the Salem Witch Trials” and the crashing drums were the driver on another blistering attack of a song. Segall’s vocals had a bit of bite, but was never quite a shout and had minimal effects and that musicality was solid against the frequently wild and flying guitars. The packed Main Room floor were into it, with a full head bang going on. There were times where it was hard to tell who was lead guitar between Segall and Emmett Kelly and several of the solos seemed to alternate between the players.

A funkier open for Buildings was a great change up but had more thunderous instrumentals and triple harmonies. There was simply no let up from Segall, and Finger just about took the roof off, as the stage was again put into super dark mode. Screaming guitar feedback gave way to the instrumental outro and the audience went absolutely wild. Announcing “it’s another new song”, the tone of the middle section was setting up a series of extensive guitar solos, and while they were on a theme, they each hit differently. A short pause for an audience member who needed air was the only moment of respite and when Segall got the thumbs up that said fan was ok, it was right back into it. There was some great bass work on the intro of Wave Goodbye from Mikal Cronin and he consistently provided solid backing vocals throughout the evening (his “woo’s” on an earlier song had been the focal point). We had moved into a nearly metal sound and the mosh pit finally got going in earnest. Ty Segall had ranged across some heavier rock spaces and it was a master class in understated showmanship. The main set ended with a killer rendition of She, but the band wasn’t gone for long. Finishing band introductions, we got one last slow build up before diving into a full rock metal sounding encore. Closing with My Lady’s On Fire, Ty Segall had seemingly filled the entirety of downtown and a pretty ecstatic crowd had closed out this Monday on a bang.