Aussie pop-rockers 5 Seconds Of Summer made their return to Scotland as part of their Everyone’s A Star! world tour.
It marked the bands 12th performance in Glasgow, and their first since their 2023 show as part of the 5 Seconds Of Summer Show world tour.
Tagging along this time was the wonderful Oxford quartet, South Arcade. They were a perfect fit for the crowd in the arena, unapologetically in your face and with enough similar influences to 5SOS that the crowd adored. It was the 4 piece’s first appearance in Glasgow since their headline show in the SWG3 last November. Crowd members poured in to catch a glimpse of one of the scene’s hottest upcoming outfits.
They played through a short but sweet 30-minute set, including heavy hitters like 2005 and HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER.
They also treated the crowd to a new song, untitled so far, but the band say their leaning towards Superman, a blistering track which had the crowd hyped before bringing the energy down for a playthrough of Blood Run Warm from their latest EP, Play! The crowd pulled out the phone torches in a sweet moment for the band to remember for years to come.
Their closer, stone cold summer is a sweet pop punk track which had the crowd hooked on its Y2K influences, with that, the crowd were officially warmed up for the main act.
As the lights went out, the crowd, surrounding and inside 5SOS’s astounding circular stage setup erupted into cheers and drowned out the noise of Are You Gonna Be My Girl? by fellow Aussie rockers Jet as the screens turned on to reveal the band inside the pink limousine that was in the centre of the stage.
The screen turned to a blank screen saying on “March 30th, 5 Seconds of Summer played OVO Hydro, It would be their final performance,” beginning the start of a faux documentary that ran throughout the show.
Starting off with a bang with new track NOT OK, the members were waving Scotland flags and drinking Irn Bru, much to the delight of the crowd.
A flurry of hard-hitters came after, with No.1 Obsession, and Teeth showing off the grittier and rockier sound of the band, something which they deserve a lot more credit for.
Bassist Calum Hood’s groovy riffing during teeth blended seamlessly with Michael Clifford’s guitar tones during the transition between all three tracks.
Concluding Act I: The Peak and beginning Act II: The Fall was fan favourite Easier, a funky track which ended with some gorgeous duelling guitar solo’s from leading man Luke Hemmings and Clifford before transitioning into More and allowing the latter to shine during the incredible riff at the beginning of the track.
Some quick cuts between tracks showcased old and new tracks like istillfeelthesame and No Shame before the crowd were treated to a PowerPoint presentation of ‘A 5SOS Guide: How To Have The Best Rock Show.’ The band engaged with the crowd like it was a comedy show, talking about iconic fan moments and 5SOS ‘lore.’
A special mention came for drummer Ashton Irwin when the band showed a photo of him in nightlife hotspot Ashton Lane, which the crowd loved.
The PowerPoint concluded with a simple phrase, ‘Give the people what they want!’ and they certainly did as Michael plucked his strings to begin She’s Kinda Hot, to which the crowd exploded into cheers, singing along word for word, clapping at the 4-clap sections perfectly.
Leaning into their “Boyband Royalty” skits, a fan presented the Aussie lads with the very official, 82nd annual edition of the “Boyband Of The Year Award” during a playthrough of new track, Boyband.
Act III: The Yearning came with gorgeous performances of Bad Omens and Ghost Of You, which allowed the crowd to have a breather from all the dancing, but not singing, as the arena were trying their hardest to sing louder than the band themselves, or drown it out (wink wink, nudge nudge.)
An installment of 5SOS’s fake news station, Daily Sauce was played through the screen, with “sources confirming that the band is breaking up.” This could only mean one thing… Solo material!
To begin Act IV: The Breakup, each member of the band, flanked by their best mates, were able to play through a solo song from their respective catalogues each. Hemmings‘ Starting Line, Irwin’s Have U Found What Ur Looking For?, Hood’s Don’t Forget You Love Me and Clifford’s enough.
A true standout moment, and a surely meaningful one for the band themselves, being able to play through solo songs in arena’s as big as these ones.
Reuniting for Act V: The Rise, the band all stood in the middle of the runway with acoustic guitars and sung their classic heartbreaker, Amnesia, which featured some of the loudest crowd vocals the Hydro is likely to hear.
The sound was excellent throughout the night, a testament to the crew who worked on the show all through the night.
Act VI: The Beginning saw the band through tracks solely from their first two albums, including English Love Affair, Voodoo Doll, Waste The Night and Jet Black Heart. Clifford really shone in this section as the band returned to their pop punk roots.
She Looks So Perfect concluded the act as the band made their way off stage to what seemed to be the fitting end to the show, playing a fan favourite before heading off stage, but…
Act VII: The Return saw the crowd turn their head to the back of the arena as 5SOS began making their way to the stage from the back of the venue with bagpipes filling the sonic void.
Everyone’s A Star! Was up next which saw the most dancing all night, a funky, synth riddled pop banger that seemed to perfectly encapsulate the new 5SOS era.
Finally, the one that everyone had been waiting for, Youngblood wrapped up a truly incredible show, one that will live long in the memory of everyone who was there and one that surely solidifies 5SOS’s status as one of the world’s best boybands, if not, THE best.