6 August 2023 – Harvey Road Tavern, Gladstone – words and pictures by Brad Fry
Sunday sessions. What springs to mind? A few beers with friends, maybe the footy on the TV. Old mate strumming out some acoustic versions of your favourite tunes to enhance the laid-back vibe? Classic right? Well, forget all that! Today in Gladstone at the Harvey Road Tavern all that has been flipped on its head with the arrival of The Chats and The Cosmic Psychos! Both bands need no introduction and one thing is for sure… there will be little to no chance of ‘Wonderwall’ or ‘Riptide’ getting a run here tonight.
The Harvey Road Tavern is the home of Rugby League in Gladstone and a venue that had very humble beginnings as “The Gladstone Leagues Club”. Population growth in the town has led to many renovations over the years and it is now very different to the sole rectangular building it used to be. With its various expansions it has been able to attract bigger and better bands to perform and tonight’s guests prove that in spades. Once the doors opened the crowd poured in and immediately grabbed prime real estate at the front of the stage. No photo pit meant that I was going to be swimming in the sea of faithful fans all night in order to get my shots. To quote George Costanza, “the sea was angry that day my friends” (not in a bad way though).
The Cosmic Psychos were first to hit the stage. The trio is made up of Ross Knight (vocals and bass), John “Mad Macka” McKeering (guitar and vocals) and Dean Muller (drums). I was at the soundcheck and one of the venue staff approached the sound board and mentioned that they do decibel checks and asked the crew member if they did. With the sincerest face the reply was “we’re loud bands”. The venue worker laughed and walked away. They roared to life after a quick intro and held true to the previous comment. The casual nature of their stage presence was a real juxtaposition to the frantic nature of their signature sound. Ross pumped out lyrics and brutalised his well-worn bass while Macka laid down a riff heavy set with wah pedal saturated solo brilliance. Holding it all together, Dean bought real flair to the stage with his drumming and had heads bobbing, feat tapping and drumsticks flying (cordially retrieved by Macka on more than one occasion).
Cosmic Psychos – Harvey Road Tavern – photos by Brad Fry
“This is a song about bulldozers” Ross said. “some people don’t like bulldozers” he lamented. “well they can get fucked!”. This was met with a large cheer from the crowd. One of Gladstone’s biggest industries is coal export and, as a result, is home to a large number of bulldozers. These dozers move the coal around on huge stockpiles and I bet some of the dozer drivers were in the crowd tonight. One of the punters I spoke to has been a fan of the Psychos “for ever”. At one point Macka handed him a beer from the stage and the fan could not have been more chuffed.
Cosmic Psychos – Harvey Road Tavern – photos by Brad Fry
The love between the Cosmic Psychos and The Chats was never more obvious then when Ross referred to them (numerous times) as Munchkins. He was saying how cute they were and that you just want to pick them up and squeeze them. Though tongue in cheek, there is an admiration between both bands and I really saw this when I noticed The Cosmic Psychos watching the Chats’ set from the side of stage when they could have easily been resting after their own epic performance. “Hey Macka, where are we?” enquired Ross. “Gladstone” he replied. Ross followed with “this is a song called Fuckwit City” and this was met with laughter and cheers from the crowd. While I could list down every song in order that it was played, this set wasn’t about that for me. It was watching professional musicians that love their craft, making you feel like you were in a shed watching some of your mates have a jam. It just so happens that these mates are a band that have played some of the biggest stages around. It was warm, it was welcoming and it was fun. Macka waved goodbye to the crowd with his shirtless belly dancing and they were done. What a great time!
The Chats walked on to the stage lead by Eamon (bass and vocals) who looked humbled by the large cheer they received. Matt took up his spot behind the kit while Josh grabbed his guitar (a beautiful Fender Jagstang, which, is a Kurt Cobain designed signature model) and strummed it for all it was worth. A thumbs up to the crow and a quick intro from the boys and they were off and running! You could tell from the first song to the last that they are as gig fit as a band can be. After playing around Europe and The UK this year, they just had a tightness and polish that only comes from hours and hours of live performances.
The Chats – Harvey Road Tavern – photos by Brad Fry
“Who’s getting pissed tonight?” asked Eamon. The crowd cheered. “Who’s going to work tomorrow?” again asked Eamon and the crowd cheered (not as loudly though it must be said). “Who’s doing both?” the roar from the crowd was huge! It was Grand Final weekend for the local Rugby League competition in Gladstone and some of the attendees were “fresh” from their end of season celebrations. One of these players gave his medal to Josh who wore it for the rest of the set.
The Chats set was stacked with songs everybody in attendance new and they all sung along at the top of their lungs. ‘Smoko’, ‘6l GTR’, ‘The Price Of Smokes’, ‘Pub Feed’, ‘Nambored’ and ‘Billy’s Backwash Day’ just to name a few. Every one of the band held down their parts impeccably giving the crowd a brilliant performance.
The trio powered through their set and before we knew it they were done. It was classic Chats. Full throttle, all killer-no filler. The individual character of each member of the band really does make The Chats what they are. Eamon’s powerful vocals, Josh’s guitar antics and Matt’s stoic like drumming all combine to leave a lasting impression on all in attendance. The Chats will always have an eager audience here in Gladstone and we all can not wait to see them again!
The Chats – Harvey Road Tavern – photos by Brad Fry
To say tonight’s show was amazing really doesn’t do justice to what went down. The crowd was huge, and, considering it was a Sunday night, up for a big one! Live music at its best delivered by two well loved Australian bands. Bands that make you feel like they appreciate you just as much as you appreciate them. Bands that tour internationally and open for such massive names as Guns ‘n’ Roses. Here they are in Gladstone giving it as much energy as any stadium show they have played. All the locals I spoke to loved the show, I loved the show and I hope The Chats and Cosmic Psychos had as much fun as we did. As mentioned earlier this was one hell of a Sunday sesh. I’m a lot sweatier then I would be after most Sunday sessions and and my ears got a much bigger workout then they would from the volume coming out of old mates Cole Clark. As predicted there was no ‘Wonderwall’ or ‘Riptide’ in either of the sets, yet somehow… we survived.