Manchester’s O2 Apollo was packed. People were pressed against each other in front of the stage, eagerly waiting for the show to start. Many fans had been queuing all day for this moment. I was standing in the crowd, so incredibly excited to finally see my favourite band again, and let’s just say that 5 Seconds of Summer — 5SOS — put on a show that did not disappoint.
The opening act, LovelyTheBand, appeared on stage and performed a twenty-minute set, getting the crowd pumped up and ready for the headlining act. The American indie-pop band played a total of six songs, most of them from their newest album ‘Finding It Hard To Smile’. I had already listened to a few of their songs before, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the band sounded live. Mitchy Collins, lead singer, used the space around him a lot and interacted with the crowd who seemed to really warm to the band. Their last and most famous song, ‘Broken,’ was the perfect ending to their performance: most of the crowd was singing along before cheering for the act as they left the stage, leaving it for 5 Seconds of Summer.
After a long half hour of waiting, the lights finally dropped, and screams filled the room. Fog filled up the stage as flashes of purple and white lit up the room and the familiar tune of ‘Babylon’ started. The audience went crazy when Ashton Irwin, drummer of the band, appeared on stage, soon followed by his bandmates, Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, and Calum Hood. The three boys stood in front of the roaring crowd, admiring it for a few seconds before they finally started the show.
After ‘Babylon,’ the band followed with fan favourites ‘Talk Fast’ and ‘Moving Along’ from their newest album ‘Youngblood’. Fans were jumping up and down to the beat while singing the lyrics back to the band at the top of their lungs. 5SOS then proceeded to play a few of their older songs from their sophomore album, ‘Sounds Good Feels Good’, such as their singles ‘She’s Kinda Hot’ and ‘Waste the Night’. ‘More’ then followed suit with an instrumental introduction while blue, white, and green lights were flashing to the beat lighting up the stage beautifully.
The show slowed down when ‘Ghost of You’ started playing, one of the more somber songs from the album. The whole crowd lit up as people turned on their phone’s flashlight and swayed to the music. ‘Amnesia,’ one of the band’s oldest songs, was next, and Calum stepped away from the mic as the crowd sang the lyrics for him. The band played a couple more slower songs such as ‘The Only Reason’ and ‘Lie to Me’ before moving on to faster songs.
‘Valentine’ was accompanied by a sea of red lights following the band performing a small fashion show that made the audience erupt in laughter. They continued with an instrumental version of ‘Meet You There’ that made the crowd go absolutely crazy, jumping up and down and screaming at the top of their lungs. They finished their show with their most famous songs, ‘She Looks So Perfect’ and their hit single ‘Youngblood.’ The crowd cheered as the boys bowed to the audience and left the stage, leaving the fans happy and sad that the show was already over.
I have now seen this band a total of four times, and every time I went to one of their show, I left feeling energized and incredibly happy. The atmosphere at their shows is surreal and the way the band interacts with the crowd makes every concert feel intimate and special. I definitely recommend seeing them live even if it’s not on their Meet You There tour because 5SOS put on an incredible show every time and never disappoint.
