5 seconds of summer or most commonly known as 5 SOS have fast become one of Australia’s biggest musical exports. On this cold winters night in Sydney it was time for the boys to put on a home town arena show. Coming from western Sydney and only a few short years ago playing to a handful of people it’s quite commendable to see how far they’ve come. Upon arrival the first thing I noticed was the abundance of merch stalls. These boys are a marketing machine offering fans everything from shirts, posters and beanies.



Once inside the arena I was immediately struck by how huge the audience was. I’ve been to my fair share of gigs at Allphones but this one had to be close to capacity. There were literally thousands of teen girls and a couple of boys most proudly wearing some just purchased 5 SOS merch.



First up on stage was New York pop punkers State Champs. Who seemed a little overwhelmed to be playing such a large venue but also honoured for the experience. Whilst the audience didn’t seem too familiar with them they still displayed enthusiasm and energy. State Champs worked their way through a thirty minute set featuring songs from their debut Finer Things. Finishing their set with the upbeat catchy “elevated” before thanking the crowd and promising to return to Australia with a new album soon.



After a short break the time had finally come for 5 SOS to take the stage. A countdown appeared on the jumbo screens as the eager crowd started to go crazy. Ashton’s first drum beats pounded through arena then Luke, Michael and Calum joined him on stage kicking things off in electric fashion. The screams from the crowd were deafening with the entire arena out of their seats singing along to every word. This was not a crowd waiting for one certain song they knew the words to every song and the energy didn’t let up .

The boys worked the stage like pros making to sure to give each side of the stage attention and stopping between songs to talk to the audience. Michael wore a AC/DC shirt paying homage to arguably the biggest Australian rock band of all time. Whilst Calum wore a torn Green Day singlet giving a nod to one of their pop punk influences. At one point they let Ashton’s younger join them on stage to help play “rejects” on Michael’s guitar. Showing that Ashton isn’t the only talented one in his family.



“Don’t stop” was an obvious crowd favourite during the set. With “Amnesia” also a big hit getting the acoustic treatment while the arena lit up with the glow of phones as if to resemble twilight. Proving that they are just as comfortable with the fast songs they covered Green Day’s “American idiot” giving the boys the chance to run around the stage while the audience went crazy.



The set seemed to fly by as they played “kiss me, kiss me” which I am sure given the chance many of these girls would of loved to of done to their given band member crush. Then 5 SOS announced that it was time for the last song but had a feeling the audience would know it. As the first notes sounded for “she looks so perfect” the crowd yet again was in full voice. There is no denying how catchy the song is and seeing it played in a arena full of thousands of girls singing along is quite a sight.



5 SOS left the stage but there is no way this crowd was not getting an encore. Absolutely no one moved from their seat. The audience just kept screaming in anticipation. The boys then returned to the stage playing the high energy track “bad girls” another crowd favourite. Lastly they thanked their hometown crowd again before finishing with their cover of the Romantics classic “what I like about you”. As they finished the songs streamer cannons shot through the arena air as they took to the front of the stage to bow and wave goodbye.



Throughout the night Luke’s vocals were quite impressive. With Calum and Michael also able to hold their own on the mic. All four of them are good musicians in their own right and it’s understandable that they want to try and shake off the boy band title.



As the crowd of thousands began to buy more merch and leave the arena you could tell they were all going home with a teenage memory to last a lifetime. With 5 SOS currently working on a new album it won’t be too long before there’s a new set of songs for fans to love and another world tour. Since Sydney is their home you can bet the 5 SOS boys will be back to rock out with their socks out!