The Chats / Gymshorts – Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA 28th October 2022

There are two main venues in Athens, Georgia, that host the shows: The Georgia Theater and the 40 Watt Club. Both have a rich musical history. The Georgia Theater holds 1,028 attendees while the 40 Watt Club is half that at a 500 capacity. Australia’s finest export, The Chats, upon their first visit to Athens have already reached the larger Georgia Theater. I arrive 40 minutes before the 8pm showtime and purchase ticket number 623. Gymshorts promptly take the stage at 8pm to a nicely half-filled venue. When I first saw the name Gymshorts on the bill, I immediately imagined some late 20-something emo guys from somewhere like New Jersey or Pennsylvania singing about the girl who graduated college and doesn’t love them anymore. Meh. However, my musical prejudices failed me once more as I could not be more wrong about what Gymshorts is. 

Gymshorts is the musical child of Rhode Islander, Sarah Greenwell. A stripped down indie rock n’ roll experience with edge, played more twangy and cleanly than distorted and heavy. With some cool build up parts and a magnetic personality Sarah and her put-together band, of what look like college cast-offs, quickly rev up the crowd. The songs have punch and bite. Sarah has rockstar poses and moves with her guitar that juxtapose with her self-imposed every-girl look. The set has umph and feel and then Sarah introduces a song, ‘Love You Funny’, that casts a spell on the crowd.

This is clearly just shades of what musical genius is to come from this freshman act. By the time Gymshorts launch into their “hit” song, ‘I’m the Jeff Gordon of my Generation’, the crowd is totally here for it. Watching Sarah work the crowd and stage, is like watching a young Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Elle King or Deborah Harry. You’re witnessing the birth of greatness. Gymshorts end their set to an almost full venue with the rousing song ‘0 Thanks Given’. There is angst, quirkiness, fun and adoring fans have been made. The Theater fills up to almost capacity for The Chats’ 9pm set. I wasn’t sure what kind of crowd would be conjured up for this Friday night in Athens. What we got was one of the most diverse yet ordinary crowds I ever was part of. Some old school punks like me, and some young punks as well, were sprinkled in amongst hippies, metal heads, indie rockers, college kids, and lots of ambiguous music lovers of all ages. This crowd was part mohawk and part mullet. At any moment you may be lovingly struck by a hacky sack, beer or spiked wristband.

The Chats hit the stage and launch into what seems like an array of classic punk blasts: Drunk n Disorderly, Bus Money, The Price of Smokes, Dine n Dash. The entire floor goes into an absolute frenzy of pogoing, dancing, skanking and I don’t know what. Every time guitarist Josh Hardy solos the crowd cheers him as if he is a guitar god. Drummer, Matt Boggis, drives it with his unique understated style. Singer/bassist Eamon Sandwith belts out the lyrics with passion and intensity. They try to match a Ramones set by launching song into song however Sandwith’s wireless system is glitching and causing delays between songs. Sandwith does not take these delays lightly even though the crowd is loving every minute of the show and these breath catching moments. 6LGTR, from the their new album ‘Get Fucked’ sent the crowd into a singalong frenzy that rivaled say a Dead Kennedys’ ‘Nazi Punk Fuck Off’ singalong. A cover of the Kiss classic ‘I Wanna Rock n Roll All Night’ is almost unrecognizable as are most of the words Eamon Sandwith speaks between songs with his thick Aussie accent. I did understand when he asked the crowd if anyone liked Suicide Machines. About 33% of the crowd cheered. To which Sandwith quipped, “We’re not going to play any of their songs, I just wanted to know.”

A couple of people manage to stage dive. At one point the Theater security grabs someone on the stage and attempts to remove them via the side stage. Sandwith physically nixes this, separating security from the stage diver. Later in the show it appeared that Sandwith again scolded security for touching an attendee. Sandwith clearly cares a lot about the crowd and how security treats them. He clearly cares a lot about the quality of the show The Chats give the crowd as well. Through the beer guzzling, 21-year old Sandwith maintains a focus and seriousness for what The Chats are doing. These are not kids on a bender enjoying an unexpected joy ride. They clearly have grasped the magnitude of their connection with their audience. And they value it. 

When The Chats played ‘Better Than You’ I couldn’t help but look around and think how genuinely nice all the people around me seemed. Strangers who could easily be warm-hearted like-minded friends were all around. This was one of the nicest crowds I’ve seen even with all the rowdiness abounding. The Chats conclude their 30-song, blistering, one hour and 15 minute set with ‘Smoko’ and ‘Pub Crawl’. The crowd is absolutely going bonkers and worshiping at the altar of these Aussies. Eamon Sandwith apologizes to the crowd for the show not being all he wanted it to be with the delays. The crowd roars with approval which makes Eamon feel better. The Chats come back for an encore and are joined by Gymshorts for a cover of AC/DC’s ‘It’s A Long Way to the Top’. Interesting choice as The Chats meteoric rise lies in stark contrast to the song’s content. As for Sarah and Gymshorts, this song may ring more true. Although the top is there for Gymshorts to certainly take. At one point in Gymshorts set Sarah commented that The Chats taking Gymshorts on tour was the best thing ever. I can’t argue. 5-star show. 

Postscript: It should be noted that the incidents with the Georgia Theater security at the show were isolated small incidents. The Georgia Theater’s security is typically as hospitable as can be.