Live Review: Gang Of Youths

It is a very, very full Hordern Pavilion for Sydney's own Gang Of Youths; sold out, even. The crowd waits patiently, although as soon as the band's opening video projections take to the screens they lose it. And then they lose it some more when the band actually appear on the stage.

They kick off with What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out? and Atlas Drowned from their latest album, Go Farther In Lightness. The band are in great spirits, especially frontman David Le'aupepe who is jovial and forthcoming with the crowd. He shares a story about his youth and trying to get into the Hordern Pavilion for a show he couldn't afford a ticket to. "I promised myself when I was 12 years old that I would play here one day," he tells the crowd, receiving huge cheers. "It's going to be a good long set for you, it's a hometown show. This one's called Keep Me In The Open."

Le'aupepe's voice has no problem filling every cavity of the building, but it seems to be a space that lacks intimacy, with the crowd choosing to talk over the top of even the most sensitive of songs. They play through the poignant Kansas off their first album, The Positions, though it's not long before Le'aupepe is back to his joking ways. "Welcome to the Thunderdome, children," he says, eliciting big laughs from the crowd. "Three years ago we played here with Vampire Weekend and it was the worst show we ever played," he says, before promising that they'll make it up to anyone who was in attendance that night.

Le'aupepe returns to his piano and performs Knuckles White Dry, a song dedicated to his late ex-wife. An instrumental movement from Go Farther In Lightness comes in after the song and it's apparent the mood will now be shifting. They move onto the catchy Let Me Down Easy, and it is something to behold, hearing 5,500 people singing a word as odd as 'solipsism' back at a band. Soon after, Le'aupepe climbs atop of the risers on stage and waves his arms like a conductor to the opening bars of their best-known track, Magnolia. The crowd are fervent, singing and dancing, and it's apparent that the band are just as thrilled in the reaction.

The show is not without a lot of touching moments, particularly when the band surprise a close friend with the arrival of her husband on stage to join them for a song, especially considering she still thought he was in LA. They close out their main set with The Heart Is A Muscle and massive cheers.

It's not long before their back on stage with an encore. They play through Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane and Go Farther In Lightness, before closing out to the triumphant Say Yes To Life, with the whole goddamn Hordern singing back at them.