The basement-house-party vibe may define what the shows at the Shop (underneath Parts and Labour) are like, but it really takes the energy of the bands to make it come to life. Sunday night was an almost out of control riot from start to finish, with Estrogen Highs, Baths, Teenanger, and of course, Ty Segall and company.

As I tripped my way into the Shop I was immediately pummeled by

Estrogen Highs

, a spaced-out surf punk band from Connecticut.

They were right in the middle of an severe jam -- one more powerful than the rest of their songs -- but it set the tone for the night. "Logical Doctor" has this incredible riff that holds the whole song together, and I swore it ate away at my brain the whole way through.

Toronto's own

Teenanger

was up next. The tracks off their latest LP,

Give Me Pink

(Telephone Explosion) sound fantastic live, especially when you can see the dynamic of the whole band working. As someone once put to me, " You've got mom and dad in the band (guitar and bass), a crazy uncle (drums), and a bratty teenager (vocals)." Apart from the classic tunes "Brain Hiccup" and "Carole Pope," they also did a cover of the Hollies "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" for the first time live. Good stuff guys!

My favourite way to hear a band for the first time and to really gauge what they're all about is by seeing them live before I hear anything recorded. If you can't pull it off in front of a crowd, what's the point, y'know?

That being said, I was most interested to see

Baths

(upcoming album out on Woodsist).They're like a way more psychedelic, way more Nuggets-esque version of Black Mountain. Where Black Mountain is a definite B.C. stoner rock band, Baths are a real California psych band. I've been listening to "Black Sheep" and "Drudgery" non-stop.

I'm actually surprised how completely chaotic Ty's set was. As much as he and his band were giving, the crowd was throwing it right back, literally in their faces (and gear). By the time they attempted playing "Cents" (and had to stop because of flying bodies), we were all covered in a thick layer of beer and sweat. The room was in a complete meltdown.

Ty's sound walks a fine line between punk and psych-hippie, and you can really hear that archaic rivalry shine through in his latest album,

Melted

(Goner). He may actually be a "garage wunderkind" as a ton of writers like to say, but he's got a seriously talented band backing him up, and they're as much a part of how fantastic the shows are now as Ty is.

"My Sunshine," "Pretty Baby (You're So Ugly)," "Lovely One," and their cover of Redd Kross's "Annette's Got the Hits" were my favourites of the night. If anyone has video footage of when I sang "You're Not Me" like a karaoke champ, hand it over!

Here's a couple shots of the in-store the band played at Sonic Boom earlier in the day:
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