image & words//lou kishfy
A live review of Chuck Pus at Providence’s Mars Gas Chamber on April 16, 2010.
Brian Chippendale is the drummer for Lightning Bolt, a popular noise rock band from Providence, RI. His usual solo project is Black Pus, but on April 16, the Mars Gas Chamber in Providence experienced two sets by Chuck Pus, a rare improvisational, unrehearsed set with Chuck Bettis. Most likely it was the early 7 p.m. show time that attracted so few Olneyville regulars, and the fact that it actually started on time, but the crowd was small. Personally, I love a small show.
There’s an aesthetic of beauty associated with Brian’s tribal drumming, evident even more so tonight, since this show was the first time I was able to stand in front of his drum set without having to hold onto something or worry about losing my glasses and/or shoes. I was no doubt mesmerized by the extreme speed of his drumming, and at the same time, the preciseness of each hit while multitasking with a slew of pedals.
While Chippendale played drums, Bettis provided vocals through a microphone and used a computer to generate sounds with a sampler. The sounds created a natural and earthly atmosphere, which seemed fitting for the fast tribal drumming that Brian has honed. While watching the set, I couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to see them play rehearsed songs. The coordination of both types of sounds and aptitudes of Bettis and Chippendale would surely have interesting results.
After Chuck Pus played their first set, S.H.V preformed coordinated aerobic dance and got everyone involved. She then handed out candy bars to those of whom were the most into it. This aerobic dance was pretty fun and it was quite amusing to watch everyone else dance to her aerobic direction.
S.H.V.’s performance ended after the candy bars were distributed, and the candy-eating audience members symbolized a nice segue into the next set by a Korean experimental boy-girl duo called 10. Their set was interesting: Marqido provided computer-generated sound and synth, while the vibrantly dressed Itta provided vocals, Keytar and toy sounds. I have personally never seen a group employ so many different sounds from toys, which included the kazoo and a balloon toy.
It was an enjoyable night at Mars Gas Chamber, which I would like to add, is not a gas chamber, just a large building that hosts shows occasionally. The show ended with Chuck Pus’ second set, which was just an extension of their first set. The show started and ended early, but while watching this set, I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to watch Brian drum for an infinite amount of time.
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To find out more about the members of Chuck Pus, check out the Lightning Bolt MySpace or ChuckBettis.com.
Check out Lou Kishfy’s blog, Salad Fork, for more music news, reviews, and mp3s.
