It’s The 5 Seconds of Summer Show and these four Aussies are fully committed to the bit. The band was joined by Meet Me @ the Altar for a confetti-filled shindig that pulled from every corner of their discography.
MMATA bounded onstage as Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre’s early crowd meandered into the venue to catch the trio’s high energy set. The brief but bouncy setlist included several original tunes and the band’s popular covers of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated. The group closed with “Kool” and the audience was more than warmed up for the main event.
Opening with a video skit that had the audience in stitches, the banner dropped and revealed the band bathed in a blaze of orange light. Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin were all dressed in their stage best and jumped right into “Bad Omens”.
The barricade crowd brought serious energy to the show and the band was clearly feeding off of the massive reception they were getting from the packed venue. The transition from “Easier” to “Babylon” drew actual gasps and huge cheers from fans, all of whom were determined to make this one of the best nights of the tour.
5SOS’ early tunes had their spotlight moment as well, pulling “She’s Kinda Hot” and “Amnesia” into the middle section of the set (after another hilarious video skit). We’d already been showered in multicolored confetti for “2011” but there was more to come with the band’s signature “Saucing” of their crowds.
As with many current bands on tour, 5SOS is leaving part of their set to chance each night, throwing a massive dice cube into the audience to determine which throwback song will be added to the setlist. Arizona struggled with getting it back up to the stage so we were treated to a chosen performance of “Wrapped Around Your Finger”. The band really made their fans an interactive part of the show and kept the vibes lighthearted and fun throughout.
The stage itself was built in tiers and the three guitarists in front frequently headed back behind Irwin to sing from the top of their setup and traversed the length of the stage to say hi to the people on each side. “Want You Back” and “Why Won’t You Love Me” were the biggest sing-a-long moments of the night and Irwin got another spotlight moment in a noise battle with the fans- better luck next time to everyone shouting from their seats, we were no match for Irwin’s epic solos.
“Are there any real 5SOS fans here tonight?” Clifford shouted at the crowd near the end of the night.
“Prove it!”
With that, “Jet Black Heart” prompted another sing-a-long and the band closed with the well-worn “She Looks So Perfect”. Yet another video skit summoned them back for an encore and we closed a sweaty, stellar night with “Outer Space” and “Youngblood”.
Not even the Arizona heat could put a damper on The 5 Seconds of Summer Show and fans left the amphitheater (the first one 5SOS ever played in the States) fully satisfied with the amazing performance they were treated to by their favorites.
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Story and photos by Olivia Khiel
