When I found Gang of Youths, I wasn’t aware of how much this band would mean to me. When a mentor of mine threw on Let Me Down Easyduring a long car ride, I instantly perked up. The track was invigorating and just the push I needed to get me through the remaining hour of a 10-hour drive.
If you’re like any of my friends, you probably aren’t familiar with Gang of Youths. And that’s ok, because here you are reading this article.
Hailing from Australia and led by David Le'aupepe, Gang of Youths is an alternative/indie rock band that makes use of a wide array of musical elements including, but not limited to, choirs, orchestral instruments and keyboards. Most of the indie music I listen to, while thoughtful, can be quite heart-rending. What set Gang of Youths apart, for me, is their uplifting, optimistic lyrics. What Can I do if the Fire Goes Out?, Let Me Down Easy, Keep Me in the OpenandThe Heart is a Muscle are all stellar, and inspirational, tracks.
Gang of Youths, was my first touring show since COVID and what a way to get back into touring. When I saw them, they were performing at the Underground in Charlotte. While the Underground isn’t a massive room, and it wasn’t a sold out show, the energy in the room was electric. I had 2 tickets, so, I called all my friends to see if they wanted to join me. However, I’m awful at planning so it was day-of-show of course. I found that no one I called knew who they were. So I went solo.
Le'aupepe knows how to own a stage. He’s a funny guy, an entertainer and all around swell dude. His wife is from North Carolina (referenced in unison off their recently released angel in realtime.) so he said he considered North Carolina a second home. Changing lyrics in different tracks to reference North Carolina, my favorite being switching Riccardo is racing to Jeff Gordon is racing ingoal of the century.
Two universal themes ran throughout the night: 1.) life is all theater and 2.) don’t give up. For the former, Le'aupepe made a point of pulling back the curtain and letting us know that the show’s all theater, you gotta do the walk off for the encore even though we all knew they were coming back. And for the latter, this is why I love Gang of Youths. I found their sophomore albumGo Farther in Lightnessin a very difficult time. And the optimism kept me going. If you listen to the track Let Me Down Easy, there’s a line that says “sometimes life sucks, everything’s lame not everything’s as easy as making lemonade.”
Within the march of 2020 (what a time eh?) I lost a job, cancled a move and had to stay home for months. Possibly one of the darkest parts of my life thus far. Working within the touring music world, I thought my career was over. Time to throw in the towel. I would drive around back country roads and listen to music just to get out of the house. That track kept coming up on shuffle. And that line stuck with me thru it all. Because yeah, sometimes life sucks and making proverbial lemonade isn’t going to help anything. It’s okay to sit in the darkness. Because the darkness exists, that means light also has to exist. You just have to search and not stop searching for it.
That one line was so important to me I had it tattooed on my left arm.
In the track brothers, Le'aupepe writes about his father’s life and not knowing what was real and what was fake within his fathers life. From learning his father was born a full decade than the father lead on to finding out he had a brother that grew up in a Māori family. Brothers goes into their story, with their father, and how if his Māori brother can forgive his dad for abandoning him, Le'aupepe can also forgive him. Hearing this live, with just a piano gave me chills.
If there’s one message I can share from this show is from forbearance: the world is not done with me yet. When I screw up, I catastrophize and think it's all done. But as long as there is blood in your veins, and breath in your lungs there’s still hope. And the world’s not done with you yet.
Dive into the visual gallery below. All photos by Grayson Johnson.
