The Chats, Bad//Dreems and Crocodylus
Clwb Ifor Bach, 12 December 2019
See more pix here
So let me set the scene: The Chats are nearing the end of their December
UK tour, but not before stopping in Cardiff for their first ever Welsh
gig. The hosting venue is the upstairs of the beloved Clwb Ifor Bach,
which just a few weeks ago had fellow Aussie-punks Amyl and the Sniffers
tear up the stage.
After discovering The Chats a few years ago thanks to a YouTube recommendation
for hit track/meme Smoko, I began to discover what else
Australias punk scene had to offer and I wasnt
disappointed. Pist Idiots, Mini Skirt, Dumb Punts, Israeli Chicks
have all become regulars on my playlists since.
Set openers for the night, 3-piece garage rock outfit
Crocodylus, were not a band I had heard of however, which was a shame.
Their set provided a mix of explosive, high energy garage-psych with
aptly titled tracks such as Adrenaline and Sweaty
Already. Consider me a fan.
I appreciated the all-Aussie line-up this gig/tour had to offer, functioning
as something of an Australian punk-rock showcase. Each band, whilst
able to fit under this umbrella term, offered something different
in terms of sound. Second up were a band I had heard of but didnt
realise they were playing until just before doors opened. Bad//Dreems
are a 5-piece outsider rock band whove been knocking
about since 2012. The most mature on the line-up with three LPs under
their belt, this experience allowed them to cater a set of fan favourites,
however due to the stagnancy of the crowd I guess not too many had
heard of them before.
As The Chats stage time of 9pm approached, Clwb started to feel
full a reminder that this was a sold-out, highly anticipated
show. A large banner hung behind the drum kit featuring each of the
members crudely drawn headshots, and The Chats written
in their signature font in large above. Suddenly the lights go dim
and Queens We Are The Champions starts playing.
The Chats emerge from around the side of the stage, having to navigate
in and out of the crowd to access it.
No-nonsense, they immediately set the pace with set-opener Nambored.
Bassist and vocalist Eamon Sandwith screeches the lyrics got
seven bucks / waiting in for the train / its starting to get
dark / its starting to rain. His lyrics are consistently
in a commentary-esque style, focusing on themes of drinking, doing
drugs, having a good time and getting fucked over. The crowd start
pushing and jumping about pronto. Im enveloped in a sea bodies
and spat out at the front of the stage next to a monitor, allowing
me a decent spot to photograph.
This next song is about doing pingas says lone guitarist
Josh Price. The Chats vocabulary is also riddled with Aussie
slang pingas meaning drugs, darts meaning
cigarettes, goon sack meaning wine box and so on. They
crack on with How Many Do You Do and proceed to jump between
playing several tracks from their self-titled 2016 EP and 2017s
Get This In Ya. Each song is short and fast, rarely exceeding
two minutes in duration, and before you know it bodies start launching
themselves into the crowd off the stage.
The Chats tease a handful of new/unreleased numbers, presumably songs
thatll feature on their debut LP thats set to be released
at some point in 2020. Its more of what The Chats are loved
for by their fans high energy, moshable, (self-proclaimed)
shed rock. The songs content ranges from heatstroke
to chlamydia. Its at this point an abundance of items starts
appearing on the stage; t-shirts, glasses, a handbag, a shoe
a sign that the gig is going the way it should.
Its not too long before The Chats start nearing the end of their
45-minute set. The sweaty 400-strong crowd are still full of energy
as Sandsmith begins the bassline for fan-favourite Smoko.
Simplicity is common across his basslines, which makes them so damn
chantable. Im on smoko, so leave me alone everyone
yells. The lyrics are comical and no less relatable. The stage, which
has served as a launchpad for crowd surfing throughout the night,
sees a peak in the amount of crowd members flying from it. Its
made difficult by the surface being covered in beer people
are slipping and sliding as they start their run up to launch themselves
back into the crowd. One woman falls flat on her face. The security
at the side of the stage try to discourage anymore stage access for
a bit, before going back to their lenient approach of do whatever
you want as long as no ones getting hurt.
The set ends with the two singles The Chats have released in 2019:
Identity Theft and Pub Feed. Both songs are strong crowd-pleasers,
and the last bit of chaos ensues. The bands fusion between garage
punk and pub rock has gone down a treat in Cardiff. As the crowd starts
to empty out, I head over to the merch stand. As a sucker for obscure
merch, I pick up a The Chats Love Beer beer koozie as
a momento.
Aussie punk sure seems to be in a strong place right now, and I can
only hope that more bands make the long trip overseas to gig in the
UK in 2020.
Words and pix - Jacob W
See more of Jacob's pix here
Thanks to James at Division PR for sorting this
out