My second favorite thing about Chat Pile is singer Raygun Busch’s Stage Banter. Busch will regale the audience with trivia from such classic films as Child’s Play 2 or its numerous sequels. If you know the Oklahoma City noise rockers catalog this isn’t far off from their usual subject matter. Perhaps it’s that the proximity of the original Child’s Play filming location, about 6 miles north of Chicago’s Thalia Hall, that is bringing it out of him. On this night Chat Pile is playing to a sold out crowd supporting a sequel of sorts, their sophomore record Cool World released on The Flenser record label earlier this year.

On this night, Chicago was experiencing particularly dreary weather. The overcast clouds blocked any sun from touching the ground from dawn to dusk. The dreariness was amplified by the fact it was election night in the states. To start the show, the opener Porcelain from Austin, TX addressed the elephant in the room. Singer/guitarist Steve Pike simply recognized that no matter the outcome we’re all in this together. The audience cheered with some relief. Porcelain then launched into their noisy post-hardcore songs that seem to be a promising descendent of bands like Metz. Then, Agriculture was up next. The ecstatic black metal band from LA wasted no time melting faces with supersonic tremolo picking and the most virtuosic guitar playing I ever bore witness to. Through cathartic breaks and spacious ballads Agriculture lifted the room. You could feel the crowd’s joyous approval when they concluded their set.

Chat Pile took the stage nonchalantly to the sold out crowd. Busch was dressed minimally, in a T-shirt that read “Protect Trans Joy”, shorts and a ballcap (no shoes, no socks). In fact, there wasn’t much on stage at all. I’m used to seeing NASA-grade electronics placed strategically at the feet of guitarists, but Chat Pile had a fairly modest amount of gear. They broke into their set with the post-punk and strangely melodic Shame, leading into the gritty Frownland, both cuts from Cool World. Still in the early stages of their set they unleashed into their late-stage capitalism anthem Why?. It was an unexpected turn to have them play their most well-known song so early, but they kept the momentum through their hits and deep cuts.

I never said my favorite thing about seeing Chat Pile live. My favorite thing is that their songs are as punishing live as they are on record. What really elevates their performance to me is Busch’s adherence to the idiosyncrasies of his vocal performances. More than singing Busch is reciting lines like an actor would, there are so many turns of phrase that I’ve unconsciously latched onto on recordings that are paid off to great effect live. Busch’s gritty voice cracks at the end of the chorus lyric of I Am Dog Now, the line “…and you see nothing!” is off kilter and raw. Experiencing it live, I can sense there is a lot of intention behind his vocal choices. A couple times during the set Busch would say that a hard song was coming up, but I never noticed a slip in his performance.

Through excellent banter and steamrolling riffage Chat Pile delivered an excellent show in Chicago. This is a band that has had a meteoric rise in the last couple years. God’s Country was just the start for them as evidenced by a sold out Thalia Hall. They’ve quickly become one of the most respected bands from the underground, having played both LA’s Sound and Fury and Manchester’s (UK) Outbreak fest. The future is also looking bright with the OKC band prepping to cross the Atlantic once again for the prestigious Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. Perhaps I’ll be shouting along to “Why?” at a larger venue next time Chat Pile are in Chicago.

Words by Blake Correll

Chat Pile Live at Thalia Hall in Chicago photo by Blake Correll

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