King Tuff w/ Twin Peaks at Canadian Music Week

I’m still wrapping up CMW coverage, so you know it was quite the long, busy festival. I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, though, so here’s what happened on day seven (the Thursday, for those of you keeping track at home).

The night actually begun with The Antlers and Death Cab For Cutie, playing a sold out show at the Sony Centre as part of CMW’s concert lottery. I was absolutely wooed by The Antlers in the cavernous space, but I’m not going to really get into that here – especially since Sean Chin and Leon Weinstein so eloquently captured the night in a way I’d never be able to match.

From there, it was up to Lee’s Palace to see Chicago’s Twin Peaks and their contagious, upbeat stoner rock. Their music isn’t something you need to give a lot of thought to, mostly because it’s so hooky and infectious right off the bat. They were funny in their banter – urging the crowd right from the get go to be more into the show – and succeeded in bringing a sleepy Thursday audience to life. Effectively they got a bunch of people that looked like them to mosh. Pure, no-questions-asked fun.

The night’s big draw was King Tuff. Live, the band is a ramshackle garage three-piece. For formalities sake, the name is actually attributed to band-leader Kyle Thomas who was big on guitar flourishes and exaggerated hand gestures. While less bouncy and with comparatively more instrumental embellishment than openers Twin Peaks, the mosh pit was just as rowdy. Beers were flung and people were overjoyed.

“We always have the best crowds in Toronto,” bassist Magic Jake told the CMW crowd prior to his impressive whistling solo. “You guys are fucking awesome.”