Jun 16

Jun 16 Show Review: 5 Seconds of Summer Bring Outstanding Pop Rock Show to Concord

5 Seconds of Summer
w/ Pale Waves
Concord Pavilion
Concord, CA
June 14th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

It has been a whirlwind decade for the guys in 5 Seconds of Summer. The last time I saw them, they were on tour in support of their first album, already achieving massive levels of stardom with pop-punk tracks written in the vein of artists like Green Day, Blink-182, and the pop-punk acts of the early 2000s. This was in 2014. It is now 2022, and the Australian four-piece are gearing up to release their fifth studio album later this fall that fully embraces the contemporary pop soundscapes dominating the charts. This shift in experimentation began in 2018 when the band released their third album, Youngblood, and they’ve since leaned further into that sound. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect since I haven’t seen them perform in eight years, but the guys in 5 Seconds of Summer proved why they’re among some of the biggest names in the genre with their performance on Tuesday at Concord Pavilion.

The show had one opener, the exemplary Brit-rock act Pale Waves. I was fortunate enough to see this band several times over the years, once on their own, and again opening for acts like The 1975. The Manchester four-piece’s indie-rock and pop sensibilities have only gotten better with each forthcoming album, and they sound better than ever (their newest album, Unwanted, is set to be released this August). The band, led by vocalist and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie, did an outstanding job warming up the crowd. Shrieks of joy could be heard all throughout the sold-out crowd. However, nothing could compare to the pure ear-shattering, decibel-pushing level of screams that could be heard as thousands of teenagers screamed in joy as 5 Seconds of Summer took the stage as the sun was setting.

After walking together to the front of the stage, the band took to their respective instruments and launched into a barrage of hit songs from their five-album catalogue. Every moment was a sing-along moment, and each song flowed seamlessly into the next, with the band barely coming up for air in between each song. After about ten songs, the band finally spoke to the crowd, before diving back into the massive twenty-eight song set list. The moments in which vocalist/guitarist Luke Hemmings, guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist/vocalist Calum Hood, and drummer Ashton Irwin did speak to the crowd were genuine and charming. There was no pre-rehearsed stage banter; while their music may have shifted in style over the years, I still felt like I was watching the same four kids I saw eight years ago on stage, feeling so grateful and humbled to be living out their dreams.

While I’m a big fan of the song “Youngblood”, which closed out the evening’s show, I can’t lie; my favorite part of the show was in the last stretch of songs before the encore, when the band pulled out songs from their first two albums like the acoustic driven “Amnesia”, the anthemic “Jet Black Heart”, and my personal favorite, “She Looks So Perfect”. Even when they’re fully immersed in the pop world, 5 Seconds of Summer still harken back to their pop-punk roots and can crank up the distortion on their amplifiers whenever needed. Their headlining performance was superb, and it’s intrinsically clear to me why they’re still dominating amphitheaters and arenas around the world. Here’s to another decade of great music.

5 Seconds of Summer Set List
No Shame
Easier
More
Want You Back
Disconnected
Take My Hand
Red Desert
Talk Fast
Beside You
Waste The Night
Complete Mess
Lover of Mine
Who Do You Love (The Chainsmokers cover)
Wildflower
Best Years
Easy For You To Say
If Walls Could Talk
Old Me
Me, Myself and I
San Francisco
Amnesia
2011
Castaway
She Looks So Perfect
Teeth
Jet Black Heart

Encore
Ghost of You
Youngblood