Live Blog: King Tuff at The Turf Club
9:00 – arrived. Still light out (good) but hotter than hell (bad). Hope the ac is working.
9:08 – here goes first opener Sasami. Solo singer/songwriter.
9:12 – earnest indie pop. Good stuff. Despite minimal setup she is engaging performer.
9:17 – a odd mix with King Tuff, but she has solid songs and a charming stage presence that blend downer, sad songs and vulgar stage banter in delightful way.
9:21 – King Tuff draws some older dudez
9:22 – BREAKING: she plays in King Tuff’s band, which explains the odd couple styles for a whole tour.
9:25 – “this is my last sad song about fucking.”
9:44 – Cut Worms hitting the stage. We’ve got a cowboy hat.
9:47 – don’t know much about them, but starting with some acid-fried country. Eat your heart out Gram Parsons.
9:52- another earnest set, just switch out brooding songwriter for honky tonk country.
9:59 – rich, twangy country. Not sure what elsw to add.
10:04- reminds me of Beachwood Sparks.
10:32- somehow the basement is hotter than the main floor. How is this even possible?
10:52 – pretty full room for King Tuff.
11:04 – we were told 11pm set time, yet here we are. I’d like to talk to the manager.
11:07 – cancel that. Here they are.
11:09 – starting off with album opener (and title track) from The Other. Haunting and so good.
11:13- from brooding singer/songwriter to greasy funk glam rock. King Tuff, ladies and gentleman.
11:17 – well deserved fist pumping rising from the crowd.
11:25 – all over the map musically, in the best way possible. A tour de forcd of pysch, garage, power pop.
11:28 – a french horn!
11:36 – a potent 1-2 punch of “thru the cracks” and “pyscho star” from new album. Killer.
11:40 – the charging climax of “pyscho star” >
11:47- the sound from the five piece band is totally filling this room. Sounds gigantic.
11:55 – King Tuff as he flies through new album and killer old tracks: “are you having a good time?,” yes. Yes we are.
12:03 – now we have a space horn.
12:09- a particularly poignent version of “No Man’s Land.”
12:16- as they come back for am encore, we get a “you’re one of the best crowds we’ve had,” which all Minneaotans assume is a empty compliment we are meant to aggressively swat away.
12:19 – second song of the encore is the biggest hit of the 2010s “Sun Medalion.” It was the biggest hit, right?
12:22: now closing out the encore with a spirited, high-octane take of “bad thing.” Such a great set.
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