Live Review: Gang Of Youths, Gordi, Fountaineer

PSA: Please allow loads more time to get into venues these days, because body/bag searches are way more intense in this poxy day and age. Also, please note: if your bag is bigger than a piece of A4-size paper, you will have to cloak it. 

Is it just us or do Fountaineer wear their influences - a Gang Of Youths/Bruce Springsteen hybrid - proudly on their sleeves? Drummer Francis White employs the maraca-and-stick-in-one-hand technique, which is a nifty trick for multiple tracks and he's an absolute machine behind the kit. After the band perform a song about their hometown of Bendigo, Fountaineer's frontman (also the drummer's brother) Tony White jests, "Anyone from Bendigo? We'll meet you at Keilor Maccas around midnight." White's hand strums so fast on his guitar it looks like he has a tic. "Steve Moneghetti, if you're in the crowd - we love ya mate," White extols. Some Bright Sparks is glorious and this song's ballad-esque intro perfectly showcases White's pipes. Fountaineer are a bloody impressive group. They'll be huge. 

Up next, Gordi performs earnestly, accompanied by a drummer and keyboardist. A neighbour in the crowd turns to her mate: "I appreciate it's good, but..." (she trails off with a noncommittal shrug). Heaven I Know, with its looped vocal percussion, is a set highlight, but the vocals are up way too loud (even from the balcony) and her haunting, deep voice is impressive enough au naturel. There are a few experiments with the lighting, almost as if the tech is trying out some sequences ahead of tonight's headline set. Gordi admits this is the biggest crowd she's ever played to in Melbourne before closing with Can We Work It Out (about which a young fan out front post-set confesses, "Oh my god, I just literally cried through that whole last song").

A slightly out of focus visual on the cyclorama features three Aboriginal flags underneath this statement:  "Gang Of Youths Would Like To Acknowledge The Traditional Custodians Of The Land On Which We Are Gathered And On Which We Are Performing. We Acknowledge That Sovereignty Was Never Ceded; This Was And Always Will be Aboriginal Land." The Sydney band's latest ARIA Album Chart-topping Go Farther In Lightness set - with its lush string flourishes and interludes - promises much in the live setting. Cue a string-intro backing track. Abstract visuals of some kind of flora grace the cyclorama and the band members stroll on. Frontman Dave Le'aupepe appears last (of course). Opener What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out? immediately causes the kids in GA to punch the air and pogo. Le'aupepe's vocals evoke Brandon Flowers from The Killers and his dedication to making eye contact with everyone within eyeshot is immediately apparent - he has charisma to burn and is an absolute superstar. Drummer Donnie Borzestowski is an absolute beast, drumming as if his life depends on it.

"Four years ago we played here supporting Vampire Weekend and no one gave a shit," Le'aupepe shares. "Thank you for being here and for giving a shit." Le'aupepe expertly works the photographers, staring down their lenses like a pro. Midway back in GA, a dude on shoulders air drums for almost the entire duration of Atlas Drowned. Fear And Trembling (the one that goes "... get-get-get-get back to the summer...") is world-class and this band carries no passengers; everywhere you look on stage the musicians give it their all and are totally invested in these songs, although Le'aupepe pulls focus like a powerful magnet. Le'aupepe's energy oozes right back into the balcony, we can feel his commitment and that shiny forest green axe is a thing of beauty. Gang Of Youths are incredibly well-rehearsed, but not to the point where it's automatic and soulless. "I will hold onto you/Hold onto me" - desperation bleeds from Le'aupepe as he closes out Sjamboksa as if he's reliving the events around which the song is based.     

When Le'aupepe sits at the piano to perform solo, a handful of actual lighters are raised skyward within the crowd. "This is the coolest thing," he marvels. "This is the biggest show we've played so far. Headlining." We brace ourselves as Le'aupepe recounts the relationship that inspired The Positions, the debut record by Gang Of Youths: when Le'aupepe was just 18, he dated a girl who was diagnosed with stage four cancer. They eventually broke up, but Le'aupepe found out she passed away after he hadn't seen her for several years. Before Knuckles White Dry, he encourages us to sing along if we know the words, adding, "She would've loved that." Many among us actually sob during this tender outpouring. Then a string section is replicated while we mop up our tears and the remaining Gang Of Youths members return to the stage.

When Le'aupepe performs Let Me Down Easy sans guitar, he's as slinky as Michael Hutchence and cavorts around the stage with a showmanship that would almost equal that of the late INXS singer. Le'aupepe's hip swaying and cavorting calls to mind Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan - someone pass the smelling salts! Suddenly the atmosphere inside Festival Hall is jubilant. There's a deafening singalong throughout Magnolia, during which Le'aupepe tackles some actual Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) chorey and nails it. A triple-decker fan totem pole rises up in the stalls. Le'aupepe crowd-surfs for a bit then returns to the photography pit, escapes out into the crowd stage right and then makes his way to the heart of GA to sing among his devoted following. He still manages to sing every syllable then walks straight down the centre toward the stage, hoisting himself back up right on cue to belt out, "Every/Mother/Fucking/Time!" The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows ("Not everything means something, honey") is poetic: "I will bear the unbearable/Terrible triteness of being." These songs are so steeped in truth it's almost painful to watch them performed live. But it's incredibly inspiring to note that, after all he's endured, Le'aupepe's spirit prevails.

After Gang Of Youths leave the stage, there's full-on stomping and a chant goes up: "We want more!" Strings return, wave visuals swirl on the cyclorama and the band return. Sitting at the piano once more, Le'aupepe ad libs, popping "Melbourne" in and the crowd (predictably) cheers. "Melbourne, life is short, it is difficult, but sometimes it is very good. So say yes. We love you," is how Le'aupepe intros their closer Say Yes To Life during which he appreciatively points out crowd members who sing the lyrics back at him. There's nothing frivolous about Gang Of Youths, their songs explore the tragic beauty of love, life and loss. Go out and buy their CDs and memorise the lyrics, because this is important stuff.

A bloke with a green fringe smoking a dart out the front of Festival Hall says it all: "Best live band in Australia at the moment. A hundred fucking percent."