The widely renowned Aussie pop-punk band, 5 Seconds of Summer (also known as 5SOS), has been on their Rock Out With Your Socks Out world tour for the past five months.  On the last leg of their tour they stopped in Hartford, and I had the greatest pleasure of getting to see them, as did thousands of others.

The crowd went crazy for the talented opening act, Hey Violet.  They had me at their first song, “I Can Feel It,” and blew my mind during their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” with their own punk-rock spin on it.  Their cover shocked and impressed me beyond belief.

After a 30 minute wait full of anticipation and excitement, the crowd erupted as the members of 5SOS finally emerged onto the stage, kicking off the concert with their song “End Up Here.”  The crowd never died down.  Luke Hemmings, lead singer and guitarist, said, “Let’s do this, let’s party,” and party we did.  We sang along to every song, never missing a beat.  Fans cried and fans danced, being completely moved by this night and the music.  

The boys of 5SOS are huge Greenday fans and take a lot of inspiration from them, so they covered one of their favorites, “American Idiot.”  When they began playing, Stamford High senior Lauren Mitchell was ecstatic.  Later that night she said, “They played ‘American Idiot’, I freaked out.”  Mitchell was not a fan of 5SOS before going into the concert, but walking out she said, “[They were] even better in concert and I would go see them again”.

In the middle of the show, 5SOS stopped playing to pick out a lucky fan from the audience to go up on stage and play guitar.  The girl they chose hesitantly walked on stage, beaming, and received the guitar as if she were being crowned Miss America.  

They began playing their new song “Jet Black Heart,” and I was over the moon.  I couldn’t possibly choose my favorite song from the night. Every song was great, but one of the best moments of the concert was when they played “Permanent Vacation.” For this song, the band broke the audience into three parts and taught each a certain section of the song.  It felt so cool to be incorporated into their show that way.  It wasn’t just a concert; it was an experience.

Sadly, this night had to end and the band finished with their most famous song, “She Looks So Perfect.”  After the lights went down, fans stood still, anticipating something more.  A few minutes passed and 5 Seconds of Summer made their return to the stage for an encore.  They sang “Good Girls” and one of their favorites, a cover of The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.”

Before they took their final bow, they took a few minutes to make their love and gratitude towards the fans apparent.  They are very grounded and are still shocked by their worldwide success.  Once the boys made their exit, the crowd didn’t stop cheering until nearly ten minutes later.  

Many Black Knights attended the concert, including sophomores Brooke Pensiero and Brianna Fabiano.  Pensiero exclaimed, “[It was] amazing, best time of my life, I lost my voice.” Fabiano later shared, “It was absolutely one of the nights I will remember 20 years from now!”  As for me, it was my first concert and I wouldn’t want to have spent it anywhere else.