Kyle Thomas seems like the kind of guy who likes to party.
While he originally got his kicks with J Mascis in their stoner-doom outfit Witch, he’s spent the past five years picking up steam with his garage rock alter ego King Tuff. It’s beer-swillin’ good vibe music, and on Thursday he brought it to the Bermuda Float in Docklands.
Departing at 6pm, the passenger ferry was decked out like we’d be travelling through the Caribbean, rather than the Williamstown shipping docks.
Regardless of the quality of the music, the novelty of being at a gig on a boat had everyone in celebratory spirits. Adding to that novelty were the nautically attired opening band, Mighty Duke and the Lords.
A high energy calypso quintet built of horns, beards, and hilarious lyrics, they didn’t fit the garage rock opening mould but certainly suited the surroundings. With songs about dangerous women (including one who’d kill children and get naked at a grandfather’s funeral), they were as hilarious as they were infectious.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the smoke filled disco, Made for Chickens by Robots was belting out his one man band blues hollering. If you can imagine Bob Log III with a chicken hat instead of a space helmet, you’re on the money.
Screeching through a loudspeaker, his lyrics were inaudible, but his ears-wide smile and relentless stomping were entrancing. If he’s not raking in thousands as the city’s most entertaining busker, it would be a surprise.
As the vessel made its way out into Port Philip Bay – full moon overhead and a picturesque Melbourne skyline behind – The UV Race kicked off their set. More punk-leaning than their fellow dole-wave contemporaries like Twerps and Dick Diver (with whom they share members), its sad to say UV Race were disappointing.
Lacking the songwriting chops which others (Dick Diver in particular) have been lauded for, they didn’t counteract that with any real punch or drive. Occasionally their songs would pick up steam, but would end abruptly before reaching the 120 second mark, leaving their set feeling like an underwhelming pack of unfinished ideas.
What wasn’t underwhelming however, was the night’s headliner. King Tuff barrelled into action with ‘Anthem’, the opening track from their self-titled LP. Thomas’ hilarious nasal drawl delivery was all the funnier live, with lines like “I do the Spanish fly/ that’s how I make you mine” from ‘Keep On Movin’’ becoming actual laugh-out-loud moments.
Donning a black jacket emblazoned with the band’s name, Thomas thrashed around the stage like he was laying waste to a frat party. The crowd were more or less there with him, however the exceptionally low ceiling rendered jumping a seeming impossibility, which led to a less frenzied audience than one would expect. Similarly, for those towards the back of the room, the view would have been a sea of heads, with only those four rows back able to see the band.
But when you’re at a rock and roll concert on a boat, these are the kinds of things can be forgiven. Continuing the party with signature track ‘Alone and Stoned’ and ‘Bad Thing’, Thomas careened from falsetto vocals to screams to cartoon accents, with a deftness which betrayed his slacker garage demeanour. He also proved himself quite capable of big, cock rock guitar solos. Considering the flock of hipsters making up the crowd, it was an altogether unpretentious performance.
Then King Tuff wrapped up, and the boat docked in port shortly before the mixture of alcohol and rolling waves would have rendered the Bermuda Float looking like it had just hosted an actual, one-of-a-kind frat party.
