Chat Pile decimates The Bottleneck while spewing local movie wisdom

October 5, 2023

Andrew Dodderidge,

Chat Pile. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

Chat Pile

with Nerver and Nightosphere

The Bottleneck

Saturday, September 30

When I spoke with Chat Pile vocalist Raygun Busch a few weeks back, I asked him why they didn’t play “Wicked Puppet Dance” as much as other tracks off their LP, God’s Country, during their recent string of shows. Which song did they open with on Saturday night at The Bottleneck? Yep, “Wicked Puppet.” An attack? I would like to believe so.

The Oklahoma City-based noise rock group came on close to 9:45 p.m., but two very talented openers took over Lawrence earlier in the evening.

Nightosphere. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

Everything began with Kansas City indie rock/noise/post-hardcore band Nightosphere. The trio, composed of Claire Hannah, Brittany Sawtelle and Dekota Trogdon, played around half an hour, with vocals duties split between Hannah and Sawtelle. A majority of the tracks went from quiet to heavy after a long lull, structure being thrown out the window. Katabasis, their first LP, was released back in April to favorable reviews. Chat Pile themselves tweeted after the show that “they released the best album of the year and we’re getting to see people realize it in real time.” Quite the compliment.

Nerver. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge

Nerver hit the stage around 8:50 p.m., and when I mean hit the stage, I mean “hit the stage”. The KC hardcore band has two LPs out (Believer’s Hit and Cash) and boy are they loud. The screaming is ear-rattling and the guitars complemented everything quite well. Maybe I was too close taking photos, but lock them in as the heaviest act I’ve seen in quite some time. They also put out a split EP with Chat Pile back in April, a four-song tilt featuring two tracks from each band, playing a show at Farewell KCMO a month after to celebrate the release.

Pile played just about everything off their challenging and widely praised record, including the rumpus first-half of closing track “grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg”, which Busch actually claims originated in Hutchinson. Directly after the “Animal / Pyramid / Christ” section midway through, the group transitioned to “Face” off This Dungeon Earth.

The evening was, as anticipated, very full of Kansas film references. “Kansas … not a rich film history here, unfortunately” was one of the first things Busch said after flying through “Wicked Puppet,” “Slaughterhouse,” and “Rat Boy.”

Movies brought up included 1962 horror film Carnival of Souls, which was based, shot and actually premiered in Lawrence. Busch’s commentary on The Ice Harvest, a 2005 film set in Wichita, was particularly memorable, as he made the joke that Wichita Falls, TX, played a bigger role in the film than the larger Kansas town.

He came out with a Friday the 13th mask and striped polo on, but both were quickly removed as he fully embraced his (almost legendary now) shirtless stage act. There were various Friday the 13th references throughout the night, including before Friday themed track “Pamela”, along with commentary on Matt Dillon/Andrew McCarthy project Kansas (which Busch has yet to see), Michael Almereyda’s Twister (not the newer one) and Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!

But one of the more funnier and unexpected moments came when he mentioned his trip to local record store Love Garden earlier in the day, where he “added two Elvis Costello records to his collection”. Busch recently saw the music legend in-person and was severely disappointed.

“Be careful what you’re getting in for,” said Busch between songs midway through the 15-track set.

It’s honestly kind of amazing that this band can make a bland, very dry joke about a minute The Ice Harvest fan theory on the Internet, then transition into a song where Busch constantly claims “my blood is dirty garbage”. Surrealism in its most basic form. Busch audibly yelped away from the mic a few times before the penultimate track, “Garbage Man”, to get into character.

Seven from God’s Country, seven from their previous two EPs, and one new cut, which is supposedly titled “Funny Man”. Placed in between “Face” and “Tropical Beaches, Inc.”, it fit well with the rest of their act, a feat many struggle with these days. Fans will go crazy once this thing gets released. Stin’s bass is the highlight.

Cap’n Ron’s classic “banging on trash cans in the garage” sound comes all the way through exactly as recorded, Luther Manhole’s pristine guitar entrances were right on-time, and Stin carried the entire 65 minutes.

A couple mic issues during key moments of “Tropical Beaches” and “Garbage Man” were disappointing, but the night basically landed all of its punches from the start. After leaving the stage and the venue beginning its “after-set background music”, hoards exited, but the gents came back up to play a lengthier version of “Anywhere”, which showcased Ron’s skill and range, before the evening came to an end.

It was very cool to see the guys hanging out around the venue during the opening acts, with Stin chilling over at the merch table and Busch catching a bit of Nightosphere out in the crowd. The first half of this tour came to a close Sunday night, but I’m guessing this isn’t the last we’ve heard and seen from these three groups in the KC area.

All photos by Andrew Dodderidge

Chat Pile