King Tuff at Elsewhere (photo by Lauren Krohn)
King Tuff and Tchotchke played a packed Elsewhere Hall in Brooklyn on Friday 3/24. King Tuff—aka Kyle Thomas and his band, Noel Friesen, Corey Rose and Erica Shafer—have been on a US & Canada tour throughout March. Spanning 15 years of albums, King Tuff’s set was lush and varied. We heard most of the newest album— the meditative, introspective Small Town Stardust, and after Thomas’s costume change into the iconic wizard garb, some of the more mystical moments of albums past like Black Moon Spell. All throughout Thomas made the audience feel involved, asking questions and kind of making everyone feel a bit like we were around a big electric campfire.
Brooklyn was the hometown stop for Tchotchke—I’m very late to the party but they’re my new favorites. The trio— Anastasia Sanchez on vocals and drums, Emily Tooraen on guitar and Eva Chambers on bass, released their debut album in 2022. Their songwriting is sophisticated and layered, while it’s technically powerpop, I hear echoes of Margo Guryan, Emitt Rhodes and some of the best 1960s sunshine pop behind their own unique sound. And we obviously don’t get to see a drummer on lead vocals every day, but even rarer to see a female drummer lead so even more special. The crowd was as enthusiastic as I was, no pause went by without hearing a few “I love you”s yelled out.
King Tuff and Tchochke continue their US tour through April 7.
Scroll down for setlist, fan shot videos, pics of the show (photos by Lauren Krohn)
King Tuff Setlist: Smalltown Stardust, Love Letters to Plants, How I Love, The Bandits of Blue Sky, Psycho Star, Tell Me, Pebbles in a Stream, Portrait Of God, Rock River, Freak When I’m Dead, Always Find Me, The Wheel, Black Moon Spell, I Love You Ugly, Anthem, Bad Thing
TCHOTCHKE
KING TUFF
