11/03/2026

Ty Segall &, Guitar Wolf – Powerstation: March 10, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Here, three years ago, in Aotearoa, Tamaki Makauarau infact, Ty Segall wowed at the Avondale Hollywood. Then they did it again at Whammy Bar the next night. So, in the wake of 2025’s corker of an album – Possession, show anticipation ran hot. Hotter still with the addition of Japanese garage rockers Guitar Wolf to the night’s bill, as Ratu (Tuesday) became the new Rapare (Thursday) at TM’s pantheon of musick – The Powerstation.

Guitarwolf
Their (almost) final date of an Aotearoa-wide tour, a tour that has taken them the length of the Motu’s, from Te Awaroa (Helensville) to Ōtautahi (Christchurch). These frequent visitors, led by originator Seiji on guitar and lead vocals, a ghidorah of punk, garage and rock, they have never failed to burn the dancefloors of Aotearoa’s many dive-bars. Tonight…

To the initiated, the sounds of The Ramones Rockaway Beach harkens the entrance of Guitarwolf, their legendary stageshow, the schtick begins to the crowds delight. Seiji is commanding immediately, and post the obligatory beer scull by he and bassist Gotz, Guitarwolf launched into a lesson in garage punk 101.

The Powerstation’s stage is the biggest I’ve ever seen Guitarwolf perform on, normally it is in a small dive bar or similar, tonight, a big PA, big lights, but also a short set, only about 30 minutes (theoretically). The pace is furious as the three bang out a few, but tonight, it’s as they reach midpoint, that the theatrics around the song Shirakansu Galaxy, set the room on fire. “Dinosaur Fish” Seiji splutters in broken English, and unfolds a hand-drawn, labelled picture of a coelacanth, passed onto Gotz, and the room is theirs, as the energy and gaze is upon them.

The end looms, but Guitarwolf doesn’t go down without a fight. They launch into their version of MC5’s Kick Out the Jams, chaotic, the more so, as an audience member jumps on stage and frees Seiji from his gat, and becomes the fourth member of the band. Seiji is in the crowd, surfing on whenua. Meanwhile the new kid in town, he’s onto it, he’s in groove, he just needs to learn all the moves. With careful coaching he eventually jumps in unison with his mentor. The clock is ticking fast and a Rumble comes, courtesy of Link Wray, a mic spinning, gat dropping finale, 30 became 41, and as always Guitarwolf, have played all their moves. (psssss! Guitarwolf play a final tour show this Raapa (Wednesday) night at Acho’s on K’rd with Chemchain. Get in you lucky bastards!)

Ty Segall

Segall lauded Guitarwolf, exclaiming, as a 17 year old, he never thought he’d be sharing a stage with them when he was 40. It exemplifies the laid back chilled vibe as he and the four members of the band check, recheck and launched into Feel. Tonight, Ty Segall features drummer Evan Burrows, a past member of Ty and the Muggers, on his first visit to Aotearoa. Man, can he work his drums, as the band flows through Feel, he is a spectacle to watch. It is quickly followed by Candy Man, a song actually by Ty and the Muggers, it is the one that seems to act as a catalyst for bassist Mikal Cronin, as he slams his bass and flings himself into the grooves he and Burrows are creating.

Thank God for Sinners, a favourite follows, and then the title track from the 2025 album, Possession, it has a psych highly reminiscent (to this reviewer) of The (good) Beatles with such a groove, harmonic vocals, keys (which could’ve, should’ve been more prominent in the mix imho) and guitar riffs that lifts the room, setting the scene, as Segall introduces a new (and unreleased) song – Black Paint. The rollercoaster show tonight is now mapped out, as the five flow through a set of past, present and future songs.

The beauty of tonight’s show is the complexity of not just the set of songs chosen, but also the compositions themselves. Songs like Warm Hands slow and mellow the mood, You’re The Doctor creates an urgency (maybe played faster tonight), whilst She is sabbath-powered and deep purple-keyed. Their/his fractured, partitioned approach to song writing creates such a vibrancy, so that it is rare for any of the songs to drag a little. Moreover, with Emmett Kelly on guitar also, between the two of them, Kelly and Segall, gat mahi is always impressive, extraordinaire and complimenting. As for Segall’s vocals, his luminous range and at times narrative vocalisation, flows like rivers, never complacent as exemplified on Wave Goodbye. The last song, before an encore of My Lady’s on Fire, a delight, a treat and seemingly short version of Manipulator. E rawe Ty Segall.