4 STARS
5 Seconds of Summer (fondly abbreviated to 5SOS) are an Aussie band that formed all the way back in 2011. The group rose to popularity after supporting One Direction on their “Take Me Home” tour, and they’ve not stopped since. The band released their second album “Sounds Good Feels Good” in 2015 and are currently on their aptly named promotional tour “Sounds Live Feels Live”. On April 12th, the boys played at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. The band is formed of Luke Hemmings (lead vocals and guitar), Michael Clifford (vocals, keyboard and guitar), Calum Hood (bass and vocals) and Ashton Irwin (drums and supporting vocals).
The band kicked off the show with “Hey Everybody!” and the crowd in the standing sections went crazy. The fans on the floor of the arena, both seated and standing, were loving the boys’ vibe and throwing themselves into the gig experience. The fans on the sides of the arena, however, didn’t seem to be getting into the experience as much and a lot of them remained seated. After their first three songs, the boys took a quick break to talk to the audience and, just before the next song, Michael Clifford made a simple request. He asked if everyone currently sat down would please stand up. This prompted a lot of cheers and laughs from the audience, and caused the fans who were sat down to reevaluate their life choices. As any gig-er knows, sitting down for a concert is a cardinal sin so, in getting the crowd to stand, Clifford essentially saved them from gig purgatory.
After this, the band played a few crowd favourites such as “Don’t Stop” and “Castaway”. They also treated their fans to drum and guitar solos in between two of the songs. This is what impressed me most about the boys. Their songs are good but musically they don’t always show off the boys’ talents, so these unhindered solo sections really showcased what the boys can do. These parts also received incredible reactions from the crowd, and really upped the energy for the next couple of songs. Midway through the gig, the boys slowed things down and played some of their slower songs such as “Beside You”, “Vapour” and “Jet Black Heart”. For the start of “Jet Black Heart”, Michael Clifford took solo to the stage with a single spotlight to play the first verse which, judging from the reaction, clearly meant a lot to the fans. The song was the third single from their “Sounds Good Feels Good” album and is clearly a fan favourite. Clifford has reportedly struggled with anxiety and depression, which might have been what inspired this song. With lyrics like “Everybody’s got their demons, even wide awake or dreaming” and “Now I’m holding on for dear life, there’s no way that we could rewind”, this song seems to be the boys’ version of “Sugar we’re going down swinging” by Fall Out Boy. An anthem recognising that while we might not be okay, we will fight and stay alive, which could be why “Jet Black Heart” has such a resonance within the fan base.
Following from their slower section the boys kicked off their final part with “Good Girls”, a feel-good song that did a cracking job of raising the mood. They finished off the gig with their cover of The Romantics’ “What I Like About You” before coming back on afterwards for the encore of “She’s Kinda Hot” and “She looks So Perfect”.
The boys had good crowd interaction, and often spoke to the fans during their songs. They even poked fun at themselves and their fan base, asking the crowd to put their hands up if they were forced to come to the gig, clearly speaking to the parents/chaperones of the young fans. My only criticism of the whole performance would be that the boys didn’t have much movement or flare around the stage. However, their overall performance was still amazing and quite impressive considering how old they are; I would now consider myself a fan and am looking forward to their next album.
Edited by Georgina Varley
Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_Good_Feels_Good
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Seconds_of_Summer
Image sources:http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/21-things-you-learn-hanging-out-with-5-seconds-of-summer-20160108
http://www.5sosonline.com/photos-sydney-photoshoot-oct-12-2014/tumblr_ndesfqz6fy1twiy9ho1_500/