Before King Tuff even came out, sale the stage at The Sinclair was cluttered with mountains of amps for the three-piece indie rock band – a good indication of the night that was about to come.
The group was a lot like what I imagine a serious garage rock iteration of Tenacious D would be: three greasy, click overweight men outfitted in comfortable-yet-cliché rock and roll garb with heavy emphasis on noise and guitar solos. They may have been missing the pick of destiny, but King Tuff still brought the fury to the late Friday night show.
The group is touring to support their third full-length album, Black Moon Spell, that dropped in September via Sub Pop Records. King Tuff opened with the title track from the album, a driving guitar anthem that’s frankly difficult not to bang your head to. The whole night was branded like a Halloween special, with a backdrop awash with skulls, a merch table littered with Halloween props and purple lights, and even a green-faced witch that threw merch from the stage mid-set.
King Tuff somehow relays a dramatic-yet-grounded vibe in every aspect of their live performance. It’s almost comedic how casually Thomas shreds on guitar from start to finish. The only thing missing from the night was (forgivably) Ty Segall, who plays drums in a track off the new album.
You get exactly what you pay for with a King Tuff show. The band is candid and engaging with the crowd, once proclaiming, “Magic Jake (bassist) is feeling saucy!”
The crowd was tamer than the last time King Tuff played the venue, when the group opened for Wavves with Jacuzzi Boys. Thomas recounted that experience, explaining their drummer, Gary, got so drunk he quit the band without remembering in the morning. For the most part, there were just a few lackluster attempts at a mosh and some rowdy cheers. That all changed when the band played “Sun Medallion” towards the end of the night, finally cuing the appropriate amount of mosh pits and crowd surfing for the show.
The set was a perfect mesh of old meets new, with only the best off the new album melded with classics in between, weaving from songs like Black Moon Spell’s “Headbanger” to King Tuff’s “Bad Thing.”
Solo singer-guitarist Cassie Ramone kicked off the night, an ex-member of disbanded Vivian Girls. Ramone began the set by requesting the audience sit down, explaining it wouldn’t the type of set you can dance to. The crowd was stubborn in their standing ways, but that didn’t deter Ramone from putting her all into the show.
Ramone’s vocals were pitchy and monotonous, yet somehow till soothing and intriguing over her acoustic guitar. She spent the evening slouched over her guitar with her hair in her face and wearing a faded-baggy flannel. A song on its own might have held weight, but the complete set fell flat in the context of a King Tuff opener.
Nonetheless, Ramone’s debut solo album that dropped this summer, The Time Has Come, is definitely worth a listen, if nothing else for Ariel Pink’s occasional guest-featured role.
