Live Review: Frightened Rabbit, Gang Of Youths

A Sydney band who have been turning heads both locally and internationally for their epic, heart-pumping rock'n'roll, Gang of Youths impressed yet again tonight. The grand scale of the band's sweeping, atmospheric songs laid the groundwork for an evening that would make even the sizable Metro Theatre seem like an intimate venue. Their set, laden with carefully balanced guitars and keys, and spearheaded by huskily passionate vocals, packed a punch that not many supporting bands can muster. In fact, the only complaint was that it seemed like the band were just getting started – these guys are born to be a headline act.
Frightened Rabbit received an incredibly warm and passionate reception at their Laneway sideshow. It was soon made abundantly clear that for many, the Scottish group has 'favourite band material' written all over them. It wasn't hard to see why: the set (their last one for some time) was filled to the brim with melodic alt-rock anthems, led by forceful, emotionally charged vocals and honest, powerful songwriting. It was enough to make the crowd, who seemed to know every single word, sing as passionately as if they'd written the songs themselves, even echoing frontman Scott Hutchison's broguey baritone.
It was Hutchison himself who centred the whole thing, a refreshingly honest and unpretentious figure whose humility and grace kept the audience in the palm of his hands. The highlight of the long-but-never-exhausting set was a brief interlude, four songs or so, with Hutchison alone with his acoustic guitar. Stripped-back, a song like Pedestrian Verse highlight Nitrous Gas felt all the more powerful, while older track Floating In The Forth got the hushed, awestruck attention it deserved.