THE CHATS // BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS
A MID-WEEK AUSSIE INVASION IN LEEDS – NOT EVEN TIME FOR SMOKO
THE CHATS PERFORMING AT LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB - 04.12.2019
PICTURE BY: | JOHN HAYHURST PHOTOGRAPHY @SNAPAGIG.COM
★★★★★ (5/5)
“I’m on Smoko, so leave me alone” goes the punk refrain from a viral music video from the heart of Queensland Australia, that was a couple of years ago and since then The Chats have formulated their no holds barred, 3 chord punk-a-thons right across the globe. Playing Leeds/Reading Festival this year gained them a ton of new fans (me included) who helped pack out the Brudenell tonight, all eager to get sweaty and shout along to some of the catchiest riffs and choruses this side of a Ramones 1977 show.
The Chats have brought with them on this short UK Tour another brace of fine Australian bands – Crocodylus and Bad//Dreems, who are both worthy of selling out this venue in Yorkshire. Bass player and lead vocalist Eamon Sandwith from The Chats is supporting them both by watching and singing along with the crowd, only stopping to swig a can of Fosters or sign a few autographs and take selfies with the gleeful punters who spot him in the crowd. Thought he was looking a little jaded though, maybe too many long nights were taking its toll on the tour, or perhaps it was just jet lag, he was taking plenty of water throughout the night.
First up though - Josh Williams, Stephen Sacco and Mikel Salvador or Crocodylus - pure garage rock and reminded me of just how good this can sound, a real mixture of blues based thumpers with a strong bassline. Going on early was always going to be a challenge but the audience seemed to double after every song they played. Definitely one to check out and I hope they manage a return trip sometime soon.
Bad//Dreems were even better, plenty of guitars on stage and a singer who started in a beanie hat and coat but pretty soon realised it was too hot for that and ended up breathing in the smoke machine on the last song to cool down. Beards or weird mullet haircuts seem to be the order of the day but that didn’t stop this rock/punk crossover band from getting another mighty reaction, this Aussie invasion was working really well.
The Chats brought fever pitch to the night, by now this sold out crowd were pushed against the stage as there was no barrier. This is a no messing around straight into it party, and as they emerged from the sheet at the back, swigged a can of the amber nectar and launched into ‘Nambored’ we all knew it was going to end in 100% of the audience drenched in sweat and beer. Sandwith had lost his jaded side and somehow dragged up some fierce punk energy back to the surface for the next hour or so. It was relentless and even during the first track we get a surfer – there are no monitors on the stage so this helps with the opportunity to crowd surf to the stage and then back out again. The 2 security people here hadn’t a hope in hell of stopping it and even the band announced that ‘no one is getting chucked out tonight, you can surf all ya want”.
The in-between song banter was brief, laddish and basic – “Whose had a wank tonight?” “Who’s ever had Chlamydia? – “We wrote a song about that, it’s called ‘The Clap’. They don’t quite get into full Macc Lads mode but they are probably their antipodean younger cousins. We had other songs about ‘Mum Stole My Darts’ and not having the ‘Bus Money’ to get home because you’d bought a pack beers. The student and older original punks mix here loved every second of it, and we hadn’t even hit the key 3 songs.
They came at the end of course. ‘Smoko’ started and a wall of sweaty flesh pushed from wall to stage and back with everyone just screaming “I’m on smoko, so leave me alone” like their lives depended on it. Guitarist Josh Price makes a backward leap on to the crowd and keeps playing as he is passed around like a toy, then even drummer Matt Boggis did the same – his drums were kept running by a support band drummer filling in while he rode the waves.
My favourite track ‘Temperature’ was next, having the great lines “Have ya got a fever, will you let me feel ya…….TEMP…URR..ETCHAA”. It wouldn’t win any poetry prizes or claim strong political status, but it has a punchy chorus and perfect for anyone wanting to sound Australian with a fake accent on the “Tempuretcha” lyric, perhaps you need a 4-pack of Fosters before you attempt it. ‘Identitiy Theft’ was the final before encore song and although we have had 20 or so tunes, it is only about an hour, as they all stick to the punk regulatory sub 3-minute duration.
Sandwith looks like Beavis with a mullet and spits out those angry lyrics with venom, whilst dressed in Angus Young’s summer beach collection of cut off shorts and plimsoles. His bass is slung low and he has one single pedal on stage – this is basic, raw and brilliant. The rest of the bands join The Chats for last song ‘Better Than You’ and spray the crowd with beer and join in with the surfing. The Aussies have showed us tonight what a punk band should be like in 2019 - More of this please – one of the best gigs of the year!!
SETLIST: | THE CHATS : BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS - 04.12.2019
Nambored
How Many Do You Do
Mum Stole My Darts
Bus Money
Best Person
CCTV
The Clap
4573
Do What I Want
Ross River
Rosie Palmer
Heatstroke
Sekisui
Casualty
Billy Backwash
Smoko
Temperature
Identity Theft
ENCORE:
Pub Feed
Better Than You