Listen to Gang of Four’s set at the Public Radio Rocks SXSW showcase, watch “To Hell With Poverty”
The running quip seemed to be “Gang of Four? More like Gang of One.” After all, the 80s UK post-punk favorites are down to a single original member, guitarist and producer Andy Gill, following the 2012 departure of singer Jon King. But if you could wrap your head around that fact – the Gang of Four playing at the Public Radio Rocks SXSW showcase is different from the Gang of Four some of us saw back in the day – and simply took the set at face value, it was propulsively energetic and highly entertaining.
Gill’s jagged funk guitar is integral to the GO4 sound, and even with a new roster of musicians making up the band – including charismatic vocalist Johnny “Gaoler” Sterry – the founder’s aural stamp is all over the songs from the new What Happens Next. The set led off with “What The Nightingale Sings” from the new album, but dove across the band’s catalog – including classics “Damaged Goods,” “Not Great Men,” and “To Hell With Poverty,” which you can watch a video of below.
Listen to the performance in its entirety below. For more of this year’s Public Radio Rocks shows, click here.
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Setlist
What The Nightingale Sings
Not Great Men
I Parade Myself
Love Like Anthrax
Stranded
Damaged Goods
To Hell With Poverty