You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you watch a feel-good movie about a man bouncing back from heartbreak or death and grief, or some twisted combination of all three?
Wrap that feeling up and let it manifest into a band and you have Gang of Youths. Put the band in front of 500 people on a cold, Sydney winter’s night and the result is everyone's unable to wipe smiles of adoration off their faces.
Click here for photos from the show.
The boys started with 'Poison Drum', 'Benevolence Riots' and 'Vital Signs' and had the stage presence and energy of an experienced, live outfit; before changing the tone with 'White Knuckles Dry' – lead singer David Le’aupepe explaining how a girl he once was with was diagnosed with terminal cancer. This period of his life shaped the album providing a sombre reflection while providing hope for the future.
Image © Matt ViesisMusically they were as good as you hope a live band to be, refined and polished but didn’t leave you feeling like you were listening to the CD, as the crowd continued to bop and sway their way through the set.
The set was closed with 'Radioface', with the band encouraging the crowd “to go out and change the world! Fuck anyone who says you can’t”. The boys have “come from nowhere”, they were “nobodies a month ago”. They are humble guys from small beginnings, and thanked everyone in attendance for their support. “I had no friends in high school and tonight I made 500,” exclaimed an ecstatic Le’aupepe.
They are the good guys you want to succeed. Gang of Youths all the best.
