5 Seconds of Summer Brought the ‘Rock Out with Your Socks Out’ Tour Through SPAC

5 Seconds of Summer brought their Rock Out with Your Socks Out Tour to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center along with Hey Violet from their record label Hi or Hey Records. Fans arrived early to see the band 5SOS brought along for their first headliner of this magnitude. The Rock Out with Your Socks Out tour had proven to be extremely successful for the groups up to this point and the show at SPAC was no exception.

Hey Violet kicked off the night with an energetic set filled with crowd engagement. All throughout their time on the stage members encouraged fans to get involved in the set and have a good time. From the moment they took the stage they had the feel of a 2000’s girl fronted pop-punk group much like Paramore when they started or Hey Monday. They elicited a strong reaction from the crowd with original songs such as “You Don’t Love Me Like You Should” and “I’m There”. The strongest part of the set came with their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” with their own unique punk flare mixed in throughout the song. Fans really seemed to enjoy their set and remain engaged through its entirety singing along when they knew the words and dancing along when they didn’t.

As time grew closer to when 5 Seconds of Summer was scheduled to take the stage the excitement could be felt throughout the venue. An image of a clock flashed across the projector screen counting down the time until the set would begin. This had fans screaming with excitement from the moment it started and increasing in volume as the seconds ticked away closer to zero. When the clock struck zero the incredible production and showmanship started; drummer Ashton Irwin kicked things off with a drum entrance for their opening song, “End Up Here” off of their 2014 self titled release, while he rose from the ground up to the top of his riser. They also played “Don’t Stop” and “Long Way Home” off of that release. After “Long Way Home” it was time for one of the highlights of the evening; 5 Seconds of Summer searched the audience for one lucky fan to bring on stage to help with guitar during their song “Rejects” which had every pre-teen and teenage girl off their feet screaming at the top of their lungs hoping to be selected.

Another noteworthy aspect of their set was their candid happy birthday performance with the audience for Tyler Szalkowski, lead guitarist for the Albany pop-punk group State Champs. Pure Noise Records’ State Champs recently supported 5 Seconds of Summer on their last Australian tour. Seeing such a fun moment shared among friends certainly made the show a unique experience for everyone in attendance. 5 Seconds of Summer have been very active in promoting smaller bands from the pop-punk and heavier rock genres including State Champs. Also among those bands are Sleeping with Sirens, All Time Low, Beartooth and many more talented groups.

Fan favorites like “Amnesia” had what seemed like the entire audience singing along to every word. However, the energy reached a new level for their cover of the Green Day song “American Idiot” and did not fall as they carried on into “Kiss Me, Kiss Me,” their current single “She’s Kinda Hot” and arguably their most well-known song “She Looks So Perfect”. They finished out the show on a high note with “Good Girls” and “What I Like About You”. 5 Seconds of Summer put on a high energy, extremely well produced set that will keep fans coming back every time the group returns.

Comments are closed.