Music / Review
Review: The Chats, O2 Academy – ‘Their songs connect with the angry inner teenager’
The Australian shed rock band The Chats returned to the Bristol O2 Academy for their UK/EU tour Get Fucked, and it was wild.
Last time I saw them was back in 2019, same place, different cast at the time, and I remember spending half an hour post show debating with them about their “punk” side at the good ol’ Mother’s Ruin – don’t remember who won the point though… I couldn’t wait to see them on stage again!
The current band lineup is composed of guitarist Josh Hardy, drummer Matt Boggis, and same old bassist and vocalist Eamon Sandwith.
is needed now More than ever
Known for their songs about Australian culture, they perfectly represent their country and always bring me straight back to my year spent there.
This time, the supports Guantanamo Baywatch (fusion of surf, garage rock and rockabilly) and The Chisel (punk) successfully opened the night, where you could already see the pit moshing and waving, getting ready for The Chats.
They started the set with most of the songs from the new album Get Fucked released in 2022, and continued with all the classics from the previous albums Get This In Ya! (2017) and High Risk Behaviour (2020), including the songs Identity Theft and Temperature.
Within the first minute, I lost my friend in the moshpit, which was already hotter than a watermelon picking day in the Australian bush.
It instantly brought back some sweet painful memories, and that’s what The Chats are all about – as far as describing chaos goes.
Their songs connect with the angry inner teenager that still resides within all of us, mixed with a lot of fun and, at the end of the day, the “I couldn’t possibly give a fuck” attitude. Pure Rock’n’Roll.
The show was in perfect harmony with my day: after a 9 to 5 shift, fighting for a seat on the train, arguing my next holiday with the Man, like a combination of Smoko, Ticket Inspector and Paid Late.
I did notice a much faster pace this time, playing song after song relentlessly without break, leaving no rest for the crowd, fully raging at this point anyway. People couldn’t get enough of the raw energy that characterized them.
They concluded the evening with Pub Feed and that’s when the madness climaxed: crowd surfing, elbowing, phone dropping, a path of destruction somehow.
One thing is certain, they’re still not taking themselves seriously and that’s probably what I’ve been enjoying the most about bands recently.
All you could see outside the venue was smiles, drops of sweat and happiness. Bristol already can’t wait to have them back in town!
Main photo: Alice Boeglin
Read next:
- Review: The Langan Band, The Jam Jar – ‘All bruised romance and atheist prayers’
- Review: Jon Wilks, Downend Folk & Roots – ‘A master of digression and an open-er of worlds’
- Review: Krooked Tongue, Dareshack – ‘A magnetic trio’
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