Top Five Must-See Shows This Weekend

By Phoenix New Times Staff Fri., Aug. 31 2012 at 3:00 AM

Categories: This Weekend

Skull Kids are scheduled to perform Friday, August 31, at Club Red in Tempe.

Curious about what's going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions where to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun?

Don't fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend.

Friday, August 31: Lighting Bolt @ Trunk Space

After meeting at the hoity-toity Providence art school RISD in 1994, Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale and Brian Gibson wasted no time paving the way for future noise bands to follow in their scrambled footsteps. The bass-and-drums duo has become known for their unconventional live sets almost as much as their semi-self-indulgent, but welcomingly prolonged improv in the middle of songs.

Nearly two decades later, the band still surprises and intrigues via off-stage performances and other wild antics. Combining crazy creativity with an innate ability to keep audiences oblivious to their next move, the Lightning Bolt show will likely get attendees talking through the next work week about what they saw. However, what keeps fans of the New England group glued to their tunes is their potently energetic jams, though the highly distorted vocals tend to render all of their lyrics incomprehensible, which makes live sing-alongs pretty difficult.

Which shouldn't matter at the Trunk Space, where Lighting Bolt and locals Sleep Money and Gay Kiss will likely render the place a loud mess - so no one is going to hear you anyway. -- Heather Hoch