A consummate artist constantly reinventing himself, Ricky Seelbach also does something else really well, and that’s make other people sound good. At a July show by garage-pop outfit L.A. Witch, I was amazed at how crisp things sounded in The Bends’ back room, an almost shotgun-style enclosure with high ceilings and a PA that should be in a room twice the size. Seelbach, 34, was behind the crowd, making sure all timbres of guitar riffs by openers Veiny Hands and Deadborns were delivered in a fashion that tastefully shredded. Not a lot of humanity can fit back there, but if you get in you can bet you’ll be able to hear everything almost perfectly. —Ray Roa
This article appears in Best of The Bay 2016.
