The fact that I'd never encountered King Tuff before would've given me reason enough to see this show, but my main reason for going was to support the Flying M. With a couple of exceptions, folks in Boise haven't seemed willing to make the drive out to Nampa to check stuff out. That's a shame because, as I hope I've made clear, they've been hosting some impressive groups.
Happily, this night proved one of those exceptions. I counted about forty people when I arrived, and a few more would show up by the time that King Tuff took the stage. Not huge, but pretty good for a Tuesday. Anyway, the crowd included quite a few familiar faces from Boise and Caldwell. One gentleman I spoke with later told me that this was his first show out here (he caught a ride out with some people). Hope some more folks follow his example.
Caldwell group Deaf Kid opened the show and delivered their best performance yet (that I've seen). Jacob Milburn's moaning, Ian Curtis-esque vocals sounded more confident than ever, as did his and Dominic Munoz's jangling guitars, Leaf Defehr's surging basslines and Matt Stone's rock-steady drumming. The songs in the middle of their set may have blurred together a little, but they were plenty catchy all the same. The band's terse soloing and strong, flexible groove helped put them over too.
King Tuff played next. For a bunch of dudes who looked like they coulda formed a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band, this Vermont/L.A. band's poppy melodies, playfully sneered vocals and smartly stupid lyrics ("I do the fireball./ That's how I kill 'em all./ I do the creepy crawl./ Crazy legs like daddy long...") sounded pretty fey. However, their clanging riffs, screeching solos and machine-gun drumming packed a heckuva wallop. They reminded me of the Who one moment, Nirvana the next, JamesPlaneWreck the next. Rowdy but cute--an interesting combo. For their part, the crowd whooped, jostled each other, knocked a beach ball around and moved to the beat. Good fun.
You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online. Special thanks to Nathan Walker and the Flying M.
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