Gang of Youths play acoustic show in Philadelphia after crew member suffers “serious electric shock”

Gang of Youths‘ North American tour in support of latest album ‘Angel in Realtime’ led them to Philadelphia last Thursday night (May 12), where a “serious electrical issue” meant the full-band set they’d planned couldn’t go ahead.

The day of the show, the band shared a statement on their social media explaining that one of their crew members had suffered “a serious electric shock” during soundcheck at the venue, the Theatre of Living Arts.

Refunds were given to all ticketholders, but rather than cancel the show altogether, they announced that frontman Dave Le’aupepe would be playing an acoustic set from the venue’s floor.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE RE TONIGHT’S SHOW. pic.twitter.com/n5ndtardnA

— gang of youths (@gangofyouths) May 12, 2022

That evening, Le’aupepe played a 10-song acoustic set, accompanied on most songs by newest member Tom Hobden on violin. The setlist included ‘Angel in Realtime’ cuts ‘The Angel of 8th Ave’, ‘Brothers’ and ‘In the Wake of Your Leave’, as well as a handful of songs from ‘Go Farther in Lightness’ and a cover of Leonard Cohen‘s ‘Bird on the Wire’.

Watch fan-shot footage from the gig below:

@gangofyouths “REFUND?!” I would have paid double! Thank you! pic.twitter.com/SzRbI9LGI3

— Jackie Daytona Is My Co-Pilot (@PhilMcCrakk) May 13, 2022

The run of dates continued this evening with a show at the Fillmore in San Francisco. There are remaining North American dates in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Austin and Dallas this month before the band head to Europe in June for a handful of festival dates.

At the end of July, the band will head home to Australia for a series of arena shows, before going back to the States in August to complete the North American run. The tour will wrap up with headline European dates in October and November. See all tour dates here.

‘Angel in Realtime’, the band’s third studio album, arrived back in February. In a four-star review, NME called the record “a triumphant exploration of love and life” that “shines through its embrace of intimacy and honesty at every turn”.