It was announced about a month ago that Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer would be returning to the United States to do some promo for their new album, Sounds Good Feels Good. It was rather shocking to find out that they would be holding the New Broken Scene event in Atlanta, GA, simply because it wasn't New York or Los Angeles. However, personally it made me very happy as Atlanta is only a four hour drive for me - therefore the possibility of going was much greater. I did my research and determined that an Atlanta radio station would be giving away tickets for the intimate event in several different ways (via Twitter, the radio's website, call-in contests, etc.). The only downside with these types of things is that one needs fifty years of good luck to win. That being said, I did not win any of these contests.
Credit to 5SOS' Instagram |
I was visiting a friend (also a 5SOS fan) in Atlanta on Halloween weekend, when the event was set for. The morning of, I opened a Snapchat story from the radio station that read if you found them at the Tabernacle venue after 3:30 pm, they'd be giving away tickets. Being that it was Halloween, my friend and I raced to put on our costumes (Harley Quinn and the Joker) before heading into the city. Honestly, I was a little skeptical that we were actually going to get tickets as Atlanta is a fairly big city and the Tabernacle only holds a capacity of 2500. Miracle of all miracles, somehow we managed to snag two of the remaining four tickets.
Credit to 5SOS' Instagram |
The event itself was absolutely incredible. I’d never been to this particular venue before, so I was very pleasantly surprised. There was, of course, the general admission pit section, where everyone was trying to push their way to the front of the crowd. There was also a wrap-around balcony where (I’m assuming) the VIPs were stood so they could have a good view of the stage without having to deal with the pushing of two thousand other fans on the floor. That being said, if you were on the floor, you could still see the band clearly onstage.
Credit to CalumHood's Instagram |
5 Seconds of Summer started off their set with End Up Here, following suit of their Rock Out With Your Socks Out setlist. It’s an excellent song to begin a concert with, because it’s quite upbeat. The song that never would’ve been expected by the audience to be played was Don’t Stop. If anyone has seen one of 5SOS’ recent interviews, you will know that the band is not very fond of said track. I’m pretty sure that the number of times it’s been played live could be counted on one hand. It was very nice, though, to hear it live; Don’t Stop is a very underrated song.
Credit to LukeHemmings' Instagram |
The New Broken Scene kind of marked the end of the self-titled era. No longer will fans hear most of the older songs when at the Sounds Live, Feels Live tour dates, or any other future tour dates. The Aussies will most likely keep performing a small few of the favorites, but fans should look forward to hearing the new SGFG tracks live. At the event, the audience was treated to performances of Hey Everybody!, She’s Kinda Hot, Permanent Vacation, and Jet Black Heart, which 5SOS absolutely smashed.
Credit to LukeHemmings' Instagram |
There were two really heartfelt speeches the band gave during the show. The first came just before the band played Jet Black Heart. Drummer Ashton Irwin said, “We believe in this band and you do as well...we made up the New Broken Scene...we wanna write songs about real issues...everyone’s got their problems, and everybody’s got their demons...as long as it [our music] means something to you, that’s all that matters.” Just the fact that these four guys created this new thing that in and of itself is a movement for fans to feel like they belong someplace is ridiculously awesome. This is a band is not just concerned about having the next hit song on the radio; they genuinely care and want the music they create to have a message and meaning behind it. The second speech came more towards the end of the event. Leading up to playing their first single off the SGFG album, She’s Kinda Hot, the band explained the importance of the safety-pinned heart symbol. It represents two broken things coming together to make something better, where half the heart is the fans, the other is the band, and the music is the safety pin that pulls everything together.
Credit to LukeHemmings' Instagram |
5 Seconds of Summer definitely know how to put on an event, and do nothing short of making everyone have a good, energetic time. Ashton Irwin, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings, and Michael Clifford have proved time and time again that they are some of the most considerate and thoughtful individuals in what they do to include their fans, and the NBS event was no exception. They are a group that wants to connect to their audience through the content of their songs, and they do a kick ass job of it. Keep up the good work, guys!
Credit to AshtonIrwin's Instagram |
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