201. Gang of Youths
O2 Academy Brixton
15 March 2022
There’s a particular joy in going to a gig with your daughter. It felt like a rite of passage, the moment you realise that your kid’s musical taste is fully formed and has its own gravitational pull. So here we were, my daughter and me, in Brixton Academy, her first proper gig, not one of mine she’d been dragged to, but one she’d chosen. Her band. Gang of Youths.
Now, I’ll confess going in, I didn’t know much about them. Vaguely Australian, vaguely anthemic. Frontman Dave Le’aupepe bounded out, shirt open, arms outstretched, curls glistening like a rock ‘n’ roll shampoo ad, he launched into “The Angel of 8th Ave.” and instantly turned the room into a cathedral of joy.
My daughter was transfixed. She knew every word, every note. When I stole a few glimpses, there was that unmistakable glow of someone seeing their music come to life for the first time. It was bloody lovely.
Musically, Gang of Youths are a glorious contradiction. They look like they’ve wandered out of a Levi’s advert, yet they play with the feverish sincerity of a band who have seen more than their fair share of the world through tour bus windows. Think Springsteen for philosophy graduates or The National after three double espressos.
The set was pure emotional aerobics. “In the Wake of Your Leave” had the entire crowd punching the air, “Let Me Down Easy” turned the room into a gospel rave. The band were ferociously tight, all driving rhythm and sweeping melody, and Le’aupepe’s charisma could probably power small villages. He talked between songs about love, grief, redemption, and the majesty of simply being alive, and somehow managed to make it sound less like therapy and more like testimony.
Somewhere around “Magnolia”, I realised I’d stopped analysing and just started feeling. This, I thought, is how it starts, the infection, the obsession, the glorious noise that weaves into the tapestry of your life.
When the final crescendo faded and the lights came up, my daughter turned to me, eyes shining. “That was incredible”. I agreed. And there it was, the circle complete, after many years of me playing my music to her, she’d finally shown me something new. And it was perfect.