Live Review: Gang Of Youths, Charlie Collins

Gang Of Youths are easily cementing themselves as the most significant rock outfit in Australia, with two sold out shows at Thebarton Theatre, totalling 4,000 fans. If they are replicating the performance they had on Saturday night it's clear that history will remember them fondly as one of the most important Australian acts of this era, much of it due to the heart-wrenching songs and huge presence of singer David Le'aupepe.

Up-and-coming singer Charlie Collins is a songwriter with a good knack a for a hook, somewhat in the vein of Ali Barter. Mexico looks like it might be her big hit, with an easy flowing melody tailor-made for triple j. Her live band was super tight and with a great mix and her very likeable voice, she's sure to win some fans on the back of this tour, particularly with a crowd like this, partial to good rock tunes. 

After a couple of false alarms, the crowd's cheers were finally in full voice when Gang Of Youths made their way onto the stage. With an impressive lighting set-up and elevated drums, the live show was huge. Donnie Borzestowski's transparent drums looked great and punched out beautifully with thunderous resonating beats, particularly with the use of the low toms filling out the area.

The band don't always have a clear, coherent sound, but it all melds together in an epic mash. One thing was the drums overpowered everything in the mix bar the vocals, with guitars, keys and bass blended lower in the mix. Le'aupepe's vocals are another thing altogether. The man will go down as one of the greatest rock singers Australia has ever produced. His voice is effortlessly crisp and deep with a tone not entirely unlike Matt Berninger from The National (the easiest comparison), but with so much heart it's not hard to get caught up in it.

His rapport with the crowd is really something to behold, conducting the volume of their raucous cheers as though they were a huge choir. The crowd were absolutely in love the band, lapping up everything Le'aupepe said. His slowed down version of Springsteen's I'm On Fire was grand. When he then got into the big singles, particularly in the second half of the show the number of fans that knew every word was noticeable, but the sheer respect the audience had was hard to forget. Few Australian bands have such an effect on people.

The list of hits was quite substantial, with the emotional The Heart Is A Muscle, Vital Signs, The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows, Magnolia and Let Me Down Easy the picks of the bunch. It has to be said, this is a band built on lyrics, more so than hooks. There are sweet moments in the melodies, but the words really hit hard and drive the songs forward via the secure conduit of Le'aupepe's glorious voice.

On a more touching note, Le'aupepe mentioned that the band had partnered with PLUS1 for the tour so that a dollar from every ticket went to the Aboriginal Legal Service. Going by these sell-out shows, we're talking a healthy contribution.

This was a memorable, near flawless show with great songs, touching moments, and of course David Le'aupepe, the big Australian rockstar of today's generation.