LIVE: King Tuff & The Shrine @ Del Monte Speakeasy, L.A.

Thursday, May 28^th, 2015: Red Bull Sound Select has again brought together a pair of artists on the verge to a cutting edge venue in Los Angeles. This time around it’s the vintage Rock of King Tuff and equally retro The Shrine at the Del Monte Speakeasy. Toted as the oldest venue in Los Angeles, the Venice Beach mainstay recently saw a major renovation to allow shows in the basement, just in time for the 100^th year anniversary they are currently celebrating. 8-foot high ceilings, floor level stage, low lighting and little to no airflow made for a somewhat uncomfortable experience as the capacity crowd huddled in to watch Tuff in a uniquely intimate space. What the Del Monte basement lacks in comfort it makes up for in sweaty sweaty sweaty charm.
 
The Shrine happens to be from Venice, a beachfront section of LA that used to be a rough-and-tumble gangland but has since cleaned up. The guys haven’t lost site of those roots as their Motorhead-like Hard Rock started the night off quickly. With the air thick and sweat dripping, the crowd was primed for King Tuff, a project by multi-instrumentalist Kyle Thomas who’s third album, Black Moon Spell, was just released on the legendary Sub Pop Records. Hitting the stage like the love child of The Who and The Ramones, the Tuff songs may be new to some in the crowd but never feel unfamiliar. Despite the lack of headroom many fans still felt inclined to pogo in somewhat of a mature version of a mosh pit, moved by the raw energy of the 3-piece band, fanning out the uninitiated to the perimeter of the room. For many of us, we stuck through what felt like a test to the true Tuff fans ability to stay confined in Del Monte’s underground tomb. The show was impossible to view for most in attendance but in all the music did not disappoint.
 
- Dominic Painter
 
photo credit: Marv Watson/Red Bull Sound Select Content Pool