Events

[NOISE ROCK] The last time Brian Chippendale, singer and drummer of noise-rock band Lightning Bolt, came to Buffalo, it was in a raw, downtown warehouse space under his solo moniker, Black Pus. With a stack of amplifiers behind him and donning a fearsome mask equipped with a microphone, Chippendale played one of the most spastic, captivating, and loudest shows I’ve ever been to. Some people walked out because of the ear piercing sound created by Chippendale’s roaring, echoed vocals, his frenzied drumming, and blaring noise gate effects. At the time, it was unclear if his main project, Lightning Bolt, would release another album or if they’d ever make it back to Buffalo again. Now, Lightning Bolt is touring on the heels of Fantasy Empire, their latest LP—released by Thrill Jockey Records in March—and perhaps their best album since 2003’s Wonderful Rainbow. The two piece—Chippendale on drums and vocals and Brian Gibson on bass—have become champions of avant garde noise rock among their Providence Rhode Island School of Design colleagues like Black Dice and Pink and Brown, and Fantasy Empire—with its frantic, yet contained aural aesthetics—only underlines their superior status. On Wednesday, April 15 they’ll return to Buffalo for a show at Mohawk Place—presented by ESI Events and The Tralf—with Toronto noise-punk band, METZ. On May 5 the Sub Pop-signed three-piece post-hardcore band will release Metz II, the follow up to their 2012 self-titled debut album—a pop-damaged fuzz-punk album, which garnered them critical acclaim.