The Chats at Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool:
I wanted to take a little look back at this epic gig, The Chats at Invisible Wind Factory, from December last year.
One reason is that The Chats were, and are, one of my favourite bands of the last few years.
Another reason is that the image above was recently shortlisted by the EPAs 2025.
I saw The Chats for the first time in 2023. I wasn’t shooting it but went with a friend. We ended up drenched in sweat and, fittingly, quite drunk in the mosh pit. It was…brilliant!
(I remember it was also the night before County beat Salford in the playoff semis – what an epic weekend!)
But I also remember regretting not shooting it at the time, because The Chats were incredible. If you know their music – shed-rock as they call it – it’s full of energy, humour and brashness. Their live shows are the exact same.
The Lads
Eamon Sandwith, on vocals and bass, is an absolute tour de force. It’s rare to capture a bassist in full flight (as a former bassist – they heavy) – let alone three separate times. And this was just in the first three songs!
Somehow he manages to sing too – I’d be gassed after the first jump!
Eamon is backed up by Josh Hardy (guitar) and Matt Boggis (drums). They don’t just back him up, they’re each their own whirling dervish of energy too. The band seems to play at double-speed, all the time – they blast through about 25 songs in an hour’s set. This is punk – this is bloody brilliant.
It has an effect on the crowd too. The venue is aesthetically great yet fairly narrow – but the band break through all the way to the rear bar.
It was the first time the boys had played Liverpool – hopefully not the last. Because The Chats at Invisible Wind Factory were fucking great. Good on ya.