La Mercè week—the week of 24 September—is usually a time of unsettled weather and storms. Keeping with tradition, this year an intense electrical storm broke out just as the week began. The unusual thing was that it took place inside the Paral·lel 62 venue rather than outside, and its main cause was the torrent of garage rock, psychedelic rock and overflowing energy unleashed by Ty Segall and his band. It had been twelve years since the Californian had played Barcelona outside of major festivals, and his fans showed their appreciation by bringing the venue close to a sell-out and displaying unmistakable anticipation from the very beginning.
Ty Segall,Sala Paral·lel 62 Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Meritxell Rosell for Indieofilo©
Segall and company gave the audience no chance to catch their breath from the outset, opening with the forceful “Feel” and its intricate guitars. This was followed by the sequencer pattern that signals the start of “Hospital”, from his recent album Chrome (2026), one of the most hard-hitting records he has released in recent years.
Ty Segall,Sala Paral·lel 62 Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Meritxell Rosell for Indieofilo©
Psychedelia took over the room duringThan God for sinners“, only for it to be immediately overwhelmed by the sheer power of “Finger“. By that point in the concert, the centre of the floor had turned into a massive pogo pit that neither the subsequent “
Black Paint” nor “Runner to nowhere” could calm down. More than one audience member was carried out over the sides, having barely touched the ground since the ride began. Ty Segall took a brief pause to tell us that the band was celebrating: apparently it was the birthday of Emmeth Kelly, the second guitarist—an restless musician prone to collaborations, who also has his own project, (The Cairo Gang), and is part of the supergroup The Hard Quartet.
Ty Segall,Sala Paral·lel 62 Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Meritxell Rosell for Indieofilo©
Song after song, Segall’s band rode the crest of a wave of sheer intensity, never abandoning melody for a moment—on “Everything You’ve Been” and “Glass“—while plunging into circular riffs that could easily have accompanied whirling dervishes, as on “Chrome“, with its fast, repetitive guitars and lyrics. They allowed only occasional moments to breathe, such as “Play Cowboys“, before once again hurling themselves decisively into noise and distortion.
Ty Segall & The Freedom Band,Sala Paral·lel 62 Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Meritxell Rosell for Indieofilo©
““Girlfriend,Separation” and “She” led us towards a crushing finale, with the guitars and keyboard completely out of control, pushing distortion to its limits, while the Californian chanted “She said I was a bad boy” in the final song like a possessed man. Segall could easily have left it there and the audience would have gone home perfectly happy, but he decided to add a couple of cherries on top of the cake in the form of encores. They played the breakneckOh Mary“, amongst the notes of which a part of “L.A. Woman” from The Doors (“Mr. Mojo Risin‘” Ty sang), and came to a definitive close, prioritising melody over intensity., with “My Lady’s on fire” closing thus an excellent and overwhelming concert..
No Peeling,Sala Paral·lel 62 Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Meritxell Rosell for Indieofilo©
Earlier, the show had been opened No Peeling, a post-punk/no-wave band from Nottingham, whose set was packed with fast and fairly short songs—they got through around 18 tracks in barely half an hour. They proved to be a pleasant and entertaining appetiser to begin the evening.
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