Passionate Youths set new Perth venue rocking
CONCERT
GANG OF YOUTHS
Friday May 29 Jimmy’s Den
REVIEW HARVEY RAE
4
Ambitious Sydney rockers Gang of Youths started with a song called Restraint and Release at their WA tour’s sold-out opening night but that was the last mention of anything restrained for the evening.
Known for bold epics that borrow from Springsteen via Arcade Fire, recent debut album the Positions is a real grower. But live is where this band shines.
Barrelling head first into popular single Poison Drum, the crowd was soon shouting along. Loud and exhilarating, frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s impassioned cries left nothing backstage, the loft foundations of great new Perth venue Jimmy’s Den quivering from the 70s carpet through to the plywood panelling.
Benevolence Riots was one of only two songs not taken from the new album, the other a ripping cover of LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends in the encore, swapping the original’s piano build for a three-guitar attack.
The poignant Stamboksa commenced the run home, leading into the slow-build rush of album closer the Overpass and crowd favourite Radioface, which had fists pumping to its colossal crescendo.
It left single-in-waiting Magnolia to close the main set. Le’aupepe marked the occasion by jumping into the crowd and singing half of it from the middle of the mosh pit.
The encore concluded with Vital Signs, Le’aupepe explaining the album opener’s importance, a reminder of his former relationship with a cancer sufferer. It added an emotional spin to a rousing night of wide-screen rock.
If Gang of Youths embrace heartland rock, support act Flooded Palace represented the heartland side of the equation. Featuring members of Timothy Nelson and Davey Craddock’s bands, low-key moments made way for some impressive peaks, finishing on a cover of Alice Cooper’s Only Women Bleed to make up for Cooper himself skipping the 1975 classic a week earlier.
