Chat Pile played (le) Poisson Rouge

In support of their fantastic new album Cool World, Oklahoma City noise rockers Chat Pile came to New York City and decimated (le) Poisson Rouge.

The sludgy, brutalist bursts of noise from a Chat Pile record can hit like a ton of bricks. Seeing them live is like withstanding an avalanche of total cacophony. Kicking things off like a blast from a shotgun, the band launched right into "I Am Dog Now" and immediately had the crowd filled with rage and ready to combust. The swarm of the audience writhed with the pummeling beats laid down by drummer Cap'n Ron and as they tore into songs from their killer sophomore record, the band continued to build the tension before releasing it with full force as they hit the opening of "Why." The amazingly intense and wicked track struck like a red hot iron as Raygun Busch's deadpan, guttural yells were met with matching primal energy from the feverish crowd. The anger in his voice was rich and full of inspiration and hit especially hard in light of recent events, begging the questions of why so many folks are houseless while there are copious amounts of buildings with heat surrounding us. Socialist metal at its absolute finest. "Shame" brought things back to the latest record and "Frownland" continued the punishing riffs and bruising beats. There were numerous moments where Cap'n Ron's drumming felting like the equivalent of tumbling boulders or crashing tool cabinets, but each strike perfectly timed and in position to ground the chaos of Luther Manhole on extreme lead guitar. Dipping back to their first EP, the band wreaked havoc with "Ray Boy" and transitioned that into a crushing "Davis" that expanded the pit and got the energy to a new level. "Set lists are for cowards," Busch yelled out at one point in the night as the band determined the next song on the spot which showcased an incredible realization of just how tight they are and how in sync they must be while still delivering music at such a molten magnitude. The rest of the between song banter was themed around Raygun's encyclopedic movie knowledge as he rattled off countless films set in the city and gave us his top five Spike Lee joints as well. Stin's bass lines hit like rolling thunder and sent shock waves throughout the club and really got things moving during "Masc," the momentum building up like a swarm of bees taking flight before unleashing sheer madness. "That's a fun one to do" Busch confirmed after the track and then acknowledged the call outs for "Slaughterhouse" which the band then ripped into amidst resounding howls of joy. Hitting the stage like a wrecking crew, the power and force of the band was something to truly behold and their intrinsic ability to capture the moods of fear, panic, and anger is bewitching. Pounding out the set with the sinister "Funny Man" was another brooding jam that conjured up some twisted emotions, but the final blow of "Dallas Beltway" was the obliterating end to a set that leveled the playfield. Despite a flicker of the house lights, the band returned for one last reign of terror as they unloaded "Rainbow Meat" to knock out the night with one last bludgeoning tune to bring things to a finale. 

Set list:

01 "I Am Dog Now"
02 "Tape"
03 "The New World"
04 "Why"
05 "Shame"
06 "Frownland"
07 "Rat Boy"
08 "Davis"
09 "Tropical Beaches, Inc."
10 "Masc"
11 "Slaughterhouse"
12 "Camcorder"
13 "Funny Man"
14 "Dallas Beltway"
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15 "Rainbow Meat"