Music Review: Ty Segall and King Tuff, Live At Pickathon

By Less Lee Moore

Pickathon aims to answer the question, “What does it take to be the best weekend festival of the year for music lovers?” 2015 marks the fifteenth year of this unique festival, known for scheduling a diverse blend of musical acts.

Easy Sound has just released a vinyl only split 12″ of Ty Segall and King Tuff performing at the 2013 festival, which seems appropriate considering the history of Pickathon. Segall takes the first half, with six songs that are fairly stripped down, considering his reputation as a shredder.

The bulk of the short set is made up of songs from 2013’s Sleeper, and the somewhat lo fi performance perfectly showcases that album’s strengths. In many ways, the songs sound more urgent here. Segall rounds out the performance with a terrific, speeded up “Girlfriend,” from 2010’s Melted, which is a great bridge into King Tuff’s high-energy set.

If you’ve not yet heard King Tuff (née Kyle Thomas), this Pickathon 12″ is a marvelous introduction. It’s easy to see why he and Ty Segall were paired up for this release; they both have distinct garage pop stylings made manifest in complementary ways.

This set reveals that if you’re gonna listen to King Tuff, you should do so in a live setting. Opening with the impassioned “Anthem” and “Keep On Movin'” from 2012’s self-titled release, Thomas furthers his reputation as an awesome musician. There are those who might be on the fence about his brand of snotty vocals but they fit the music like a glove. The band performs the T.Rex-ian “Stranger” and “Dancin’ On You” (from 2008’s Was Dead), the latter of which is phenomenally better than the recorded version. They finish with the amazing, ’70s-power pop vibe of “She’s On Fire”

Live albums can be hit or miss, but this Live At Pickathon release is definitely one you’ll want in your collection.

Ty Segall & King Tuff, Live At Pickathon was released by Easy Sound on May 5. The 17th annual Pickathon occurs July 31 – August 2, 2015 at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon.