REVIEW: Gang Of Youths - The Fourm, Melbourne

Thursday the 5th of September 2013 - the first time I ever saw Gang of Youths play live, or had even heard of them for that matter.

It was a Thursday night in Bendigo and a mates band had been given the opening support slot for Cloud Control. We were pumped to see our friends get a gig like this, as it wasn’t every day a band like Cloud Control came to town. What my mates and I weren’t expecting, was to see a band that within 5 years would be inspiring a generation.

After their second song, my mate turned around to me and yelled in my ear “these guys will make it, I reckon”, referring to Gang of Youths.

Fast forward almost five years to the day and I’m standing in line at The Forum for what will be one of their eight sold out shows at the iconic Melbourne venue.

After Charlie Collins had warmed up the crowd with a lovely set full of folk-pop greatness, the stage was set for GOY.

Gang of Youths burst open their set with a brooding version of Fear and Trembling, with Dave beginning the song with just him and his acoustic guitar before the band joined him to turn the song into a massive, Americana styled rock anthem.

They followed with the lead single from Go Farther In Lightness, What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out and it threw the crowd into an absolute frenzy.

Atlas Drowned was up next which is in my top 5 favourites from their most recent LP. If I had of had my eyes closed Dave’s voice could have been mistaken for Brandon Flowers singing an early Killers song. They continued the set with tracks such as L’imaginiare, Keep Me In The Open and Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane.

Dave was his at his absolute best as the humble, entertaining frontman that we all love. While the rest of the band had a break, Dave made his way to the grand piano in the bottom corner of the stage. He played Go Farther In Lightness, Persevere, an old favourite in Riverlands. He even snuck in a cover of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer which the crowd had a sing along to.

The rest of the band came back on stage for the last few songs where they played their emotional pop gem Magnolia, The Heart Is A Muscle before closing their set with one last huge singalong to The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows.

But we knew they still had more in them.

They came back for the encore and delivered the crowd exactly what they’d ordered. Playing the only song in the set from their 2016 EP - ‘Let Me Be Clear’, they played the heart strangling Still Unbeaten Life. Their second last song was their 2015 anthem in Vital Signs, before closing the night with Say Yes To Life.

Tonight’s show no doubt showed everyone why Gang of Youths are currently Australia’s premiere rock band. The bands passion and energy for each other on stage is more than just music, they are like brothers and it’s beautiful to watch.