Photo by LUKE HENERY
Australian punks The Chats have unleashed “Struck By Lightning,” their first new tune and video of 2022.
It follows the band’s 2020 debut album, High Risk Behaviour. “Struck By Lightning” is a fast, furious, 100-second blitz. It shows the Queensland trio revitalized post-pandemic and toting a ripping new guitarist, Josh Hardy.
Following a Chats jam session, singer-bassist Eamon Sandwith went home and wrote a song about getting struck by lightning, like how you would feel, and what would happen.
Eamon got a taste of the storm gods’ revenge in the accompanying video. It shows the band, including drummer Matt Boggis, playing in a shed, before being hit by unexpected bolts of lightning.
“It’s a silly video, and I reckon I did like seven or eight takes of this stunt, where I was hoisted in the air at a fast speed, straight off my feet,” Eamon said. “That night, we were doing a show, and I had this headache. I guess the stunt work had fucked with my head, and I started throwing up while I was playing. The thing is, the crowd loved it, and they went off about me throwing up even more than they did for any song we played.”
Next week, The Chats will kick off their UK tour. Following, they’ll bring their live show across North America, where they will play some cities for the first time ever. Then, they’ll continue their tour in Europe.
Thu. Mar. 17 – Brussels, BE @ La Botanique
Sat. Mar. 19 – Southampton, UK @ Southampton 1865
Sun. Mar. 20 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Tue. Mar. 22 – Dublin, IR @ 3Olympia Theatre
Wed. Mar. 23 – Belfast, UK @ The Limelight
Thu. Mar. 24 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3
Fri. Mar. 25 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop
Sat. Mar. 26 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
Sun. Mar. 27 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds University Union
Mon. Mar. 28 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Bristol
Tue. Mar. 29 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk
Wed. Mar. 30 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
Thu. Mar. 31 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
Thu. Apr. 14 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Fri. Apr. 15 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Sat. Apr. 16 – Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre
Sun. Apr. 17 – Roseville, CA @ Event Lawn at Virgin Hotels *
Mon. Apr. 18 – Las Vegas, NV @ Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
Tue. Apr. 19 – Ventura, CA @ Ventura Music Hall
Wed. Apr. 20 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (EARLY SHOW)
Wed. Apr. 20 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (LATE SHOW) – SOLD OUT
Fri. Apr. 22 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Sat. Apr. 23 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Mon. Apr. 25 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
Tue. Apr. 26 – Houston, TX @ The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues
Wed. Apr. 27 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin
Thu. Apr. 28 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues – Cambridge Room
Sat. Apr. 30 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East
Sun. May 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Tue. May 3 – Columbia, SC @ The Senate
Wed. May 4 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
Thu. May 5 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Fri. May 6 – Warrendale, PA @ Jergel’s Rhythm Grille
Sat. May 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Sun. May 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ The Fillmore – SOLD OUT
Tue. May 10 – Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Électriques
Wed. May 11 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground – SOLD OUT
Thu. May 12 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop – SOLD OUT
Fri. May 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
Sat. May 14 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Sun. May 15 – St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall – SOLD OUT
Tue. May 17 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
Wed. May 18 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Fri. May 20 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre – SOLD OUT
Sun. May 22 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville 2022
Wed. May 25 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon – SOLD OUT
Thu. May 26 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
Fri. May 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre – SOLD OUT
Mon. Jun. 27 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie
Tue. Jun. 28 – Brussels, BE @ La Botanique
Fri. Jul. 1 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter 2022
Mon. Jul. 4 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
Tue. Jul. 5 – Berlin, DE @ SO36
Wed. Jul. 6 – Hamburg, DE @ Moltow Backyard
Thu. Jul. 7 – Cologne, DE @ Gebäude
Fri. Jul. 22 – Adelaide, AU @ Adelaide Showground
Fri. Jul. 29 – Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes
Sat. Oct. 8 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival* supporting King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard