Thursday 4th September - The Roundhouse, Camden, London
*****
When you go to a concert, you have certain expectations of the night and that September evening in the Camden Roundhouse, I learnt that 5 Seconds of Summer are one of those bands who both meet and exceed expectations each and every concert they perform.
September has already crept up on us which means that the small yet iconic venue that is the Roundhouse becomes filled to the brim with music fans each night of the month for the iTunes Festival. Selected at random upon entry, lucky winners get the opportunity to see world class acts play an one off gig for free. Lucky enough for me, I won tickets to see my new obsession in the music industry, Australian born and bred pop punk band 5 Seconds of Summer. Notice how I called them a pop punk band and not a boy band, I'll explain more later.
I had never seen them live previous to this evening but by the ever growing love I am developing for them and the words of the fans who have been there since the birth of their career and had seen them on their last two UK tours in the past year and a half, I knew I was in for a good show.
Due to the band's overwhelming success and growth in popularity since the beginning of the year, the band have sadly been categorised as "another teen boy band with 5 seconds of fame" - pun not intended. Despite their strictly pop punk sound which mirrors the likes of Fall Out Boy and All Time Low, they are known by outsiders as a mainstream band all because of their chart success and loyal fanbase on social networking sites. It's a shame really because if they took the time to listen to what they have to offer the world, they would be blown away. Even more so if they by chance got to see them live.
Support for this gig was brought to us by former Busted front man, Charlie Simpson, who performed his entire set without coming to the realisation that his trouser zipper was undone. Sorry Charlie but we all noticed! Despite his slight wardrobe malfunction, his authentic and husky vocals filled the venue with a beautiful sound and left everyone speechless. A lot of people shun him for deciding to go solo instead of joining his 00's success band to collab with McFly but I personally believe that this is the way it should be, and I think so does Charlie.
My biggest worry with this show was that because anyone can enter for tickets to any concert on the festival line up, many non-fans may have won tickets. However, I was reassured when the clock struck 9pm and it was time to welcome on 5SOS (pronounced "5 soss" not "5 es oh es" just to clarify!) The screams of thousands of anticipating fans started to rise from inside them. From that moment on, I had a clear idea that the venue was in fact made up of 90% pure 5SOS fangirls, which is not in any way a bad thing.
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The boys opened with the lively and energetic number entitled 18 which now no longer makes any sense due to the youngest member and lead singer Luke Hemmings turning 18 in July. However, this did not stop us from getting into the vibe and enjoying ourselves. Especially the drunk guy down in the front row, he was really getting into it.
The heartfelt ballad of the album and latest single Amnesia turned down the energy a bit. The entire crowd sung it back which filled the room with yet another beautiful echo. The kind of echo that gives you goosebumps. The kind of echo that can be seen at huge rock band concerts on a much larger scale. It was truly electrifying yet emotional. The next best slow tempo song Beside You had a similar effect on the audience.
Now, this was not an easy decision for me to pick out a favourite but my favourite live song from the evening was Heartache on the Big Screen taken from their first EP which accompanied their first number 1 single She Looks So Perfect. The guitar riffs and bass of the song bought the energy in the room back to the insane levels which it opened with and plus it's one of my favourite 5SOS songs so it was an absolute pleasure to finally hear it live. Long Way Home was perfomed for the second time ever in it's history and the smile that emanated from drummer Ashton Irwin's face was mesmerising, both for the fact he was so overwhelmed by the audience's response to the song but also because he was a rather beautiful smile *laughs sweetly*
The 8th track from their self-titled album End Up Here made it's live debut and boy, was it a good'un! One of my favourite tracks from the album, I have always anticipated the day that it finally graced a 5SOS set list and I was glad that they waited for me to be there in the flesh to hear it. To round off the amazing show, they ended with the song that started it all She Looks So Perfect and I just wanted that song to last until next June when I see them live again on their Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour at Wembley Arena (yep, they've hit the big time!)
The 8th track from their self-titled album End Up Here made it's live debut and boy, was it a good'un! One of my favourite tracks from the album, I have always anticipated the day that it finally graced a 5SOS set list and I was glad that they waited for me to be there in the flesh to hear it. To round off the amazing show, they ended with the song that started it all She Looks So Perfect and I just wanted that song to last until next June when I see them live again on their Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour at Wembley Arena (yep, they've hit the big time!)
What I love about smaller venue shows is the fact that the atmosphere hits you a lot harder than at larger scale arena shows. You are emotionally (and physically) closer to the band/singer you are seeing and it makes the moment all that bit more special. This gig was no exception to this theory. Seeing each individual band member rock out on their own instruments getting completely lost in the moment. In a trance at the fact that four once small town school boys from Sydney, Australia now have a legion of fans singing back their songs to them was truly heart-warming.
The 5 Seconds of Summer boys are a prime example as to how famous people should go about themselves - humble, honest and funny without being offensive. I honestly hope that it stays that way for a very long time because I would hate to see them go down the dark path of fame.
I'd just like to say a massive thank you to iTunes for hosting one of my favourite bands on their festival and more importantly giving me the opportunity to see them. If you have tickets for their UK tour next May/June, you're in for an absolute treat. If you don't have tickets, hunt for them because I can assure you, watching 5 Seconds of Summer is 10 times better when you are there in the flesh rather than through a livestream. Even if you don't consider yourself the biggest 5SOS fan, give them a go because they are an absolutely incredible live band.
The 5 Seconds of Summer boys are a prime example as to how famous people should go about themselves - humble, honest and funny without being offensive. I honestly hope that it stays that way for a very long time because I would hate to see them go down the dark path of fame.
I'd just like to say a massive thank you to iTunes for hosting one of my favourite bands on their festival and more importantly giving me the opportunity to see them. If you have tickets for their UK tour next May/June, you're in for an absolute treat. If you don't have tickets, hunt for them because I can assure you, watching 5 Seconds of Summer is 10 times better when you are there in the flesh rather than through a livestream. Even if you don't consider yourself the biggest 5SOS fan, give them a go because they are an absolutely incredible live band.
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