Imagine this: you, along with thousands of other fans, are standing in an arena, everyone eagerly anticipating for the start of the show. The lights go out. The crowd’s attention immediately focuses toward the stage, and cheers erupt from all sides of the stadium; the stage is illuminated by the digital big screen with a two-minute countdown. The roars of excitement are deafening, and soon enough, there are ten seconds left on the clock. You chant along, “3…2…1…0!”; the lights once again go out, but this time, the center stage is lit up and you see a drum kit and its drummer come into the light, as well as hearing his thundering beats coming from it. The cheers get louder as you hear guitar strings being played; the lights flicker, and three boys run onto the stage, and before long, 5 Seconds of Summer are playing live.

On September 1st, 2015, in Jones Beach State Park (Wantagh, NY), 5 Seconds of Summer kicked off the two-day New York part of the Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour (known as ROWYSO). Starting in May of 2015 and ending in September of 2015, it was the Australian band’s first headlining concert tour. The band, known as 5SOS, consists of four members, Luke Hemmings (guitarist, lead singer), Michael Clifford (guitarist, singer), Calum Hood (bassist, singer), and Ashton Irwin (drummer, singer). As September 1st drew near, New York’s 5SOS fans’ excitement grew each day.

The set list of the concert started out with three tracks from their previous album, 5 Seconds of Summer. They then played their new song “Permanent Vacation,” a track off their most recent album, Sounds Good Feels Good, which got the crowd on their feet and dancing along to the beat. After that, the boys played a few more songs off their previous album, including the slow, downbeat songs that made the crowd a little emotional; for tracks with deep and meaningful lyrics like “Beside You,” “Amnesia,” and “Disconnected” all touched us in the heart. They finished off by playing their more hardcore songs such as “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” “Rejects,” and even their cover of Green Day’s “American Idiot,” which showed the band’s more punky and pop side. Overall, I thought the set list was very creative and I enjoyed it very much.

What amazed me the most about the concert was the singing, crowd interactions, and the energy and effort put into the show. With most bands/singers, the recorded songs have a huge difference in comparison to the live songs. This is because of auto-tuning, which corrects a singer’s bad/off notes and wavering pitches in a song, so during concerts, it’s usually pretty easy to tell the difference between the recorded song and the regular, live song because of auto-tuning. I usually expect to hear this difference when I go to concerts. However, in 5 Seconds of Summer’s concert, I heard no difference between the songs. This amazed me to realize how true they were to their music; it showed that they wanted to sound like themselves and not with auto-tuning mixed in with their voices.

Another thing I loved was the crowd interactions. The band interacted with the crowd so much during the concert; it really showed that they really care about their fans. I remember during “Permanent Vacation”, the band split the arena in three sections- one section to Luke (who was center-stage), one to Michael (who was left of Luke), and the other to Calum (who was right of Luke). While Ashton played an amazing up-beat tempo, the three boys up front led their “section” to either sing, clap, or yell to Ashton’s beat. It was so much fun and it was one of my favorite moments of the show.

Lastly, the energy; during the concert, I couldn’t help but feel the energy that was blowing around the arena. It felt so strong, as if the music and the crowd connected mentally. Both the lyrics and the music together made such a powerful feeling over the stadium, like it was joining the fans with the band together, or uniting them through the music. I felt as if the energy was circling in the air, as if 5SOS were radiating all the energy off the effort they put into their music, and it made me enjoy the concert much more.

5 Seconds of Summer’s concert isn’t one where you sit still for three hours and listen quietly. It’s a carefree environment where you can release yourself into the music and just be free. It’s a place where you can store away all your worries and enjoy the moment. 5SOS makes their crowd want to get up on their feet, dance and scream lyrics, all to have a good time. That is their main intention: to make everyone happy with their music. They put all their effort and energy and soul into their concerts so it is enjoyable for everyone. 5SOS’s concerts are a place where you can be free, a little rebellious, and true to yourself through the music. So, if you ever find yourself at a 5SOS concert, you are in for the experience of a lifetime.