Gang of Youths continue US rise, despite break-ins, guitar damage, tornados

Image: Trey Freeman Photography / Gang Of Youths Facebook

Last year, when Gang of Youths played New York’s Mercury Lounge, one writer observed, “The land down under has been pumping out some incredibly entertaining bands for a few years now, and one of the more notable indie bands to come from Sydney (is) Gang of Youths.”

Citing their “wildly energetic performance”, he added, “David Le’aupepe may be one of the best rising performers in the business.”

This time around, the message has spread, and Gang of Youths are getting more critical acclaim than ever on their current North American tour.

It kicked off at South By Southwest, where Rolling Stone included them among its Top 30 and Brooklyn Vegan in its '18 Best Sets We Saw at SXSW'.

The latter commented, "They already seem like they should be playing to crowds 10 times as big as they played to on Saturday, and they don’t hold back one bit from playing like the rock stars they deserve to be."

Another acclaimed them to be well on their way to arenas as the Sydneysiders made their American television debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

Nine of the shows have sold out: Nashville, Washington, New York, Toronto, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver.

The trek has not been without its dramas, according  to the band’s social media posts.

Le'aupepe threw shade at Delta Airlines for "breaking" his Gretsch guitar” in transit.

Days later, just before playing Nashville, their van was broken into “and all our laptops gone.”

They had to rush to a food chain Panera Bread outlet to find wifi and re-download samples on the stolen laptops.

A few years ago, Le’aupepe lived briefly in Nashville as his marriage broke up.

The post added, “Tornado warnings but we’re here Nashville.”

The current US run winds up on March 31. After five dates in the UK March 9—15, the Gang are back in the US again for ten dates May 20 to June 2.

It’s a return to the UK as well as Europe for seven stops June 10 to July 6, before a flight to Montreal for an August 5 show.