Photos: Abigail McNatt
Review: Chris “Oberrated” Ober
What happens when the world’s greatest boyband takes over the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins (aka PPG Paints Arena)? Well, the answer is quite simple: a damn good show. That’s exactly what thousands of adoring fans got when 5 Seconds of Summer brought their Everyone’s A Star tour to Pittsburgh. With 15 years of music under their belt and their most outrageous concept yet, the band arrived ready to lean into the joke, celebrate their legacy, and deliver a show that was as eccentric as it was exciting.
Never alone, though, 5 Seconds of Summer brought along The Band CAMINO to start off the night right. Meshing perfectly with their alt-pop rock style, it was clear that although this was 5SOS’s night, the crowd was more than familiar with CAMINO’s work, as there were thousands of people dancing and singing along with every word sung by the Tennessee-based band. It also helps that not only did the band perform songs like “Holly!,” “Do What You Gotta Do,” and “See Through” that their legions of diehard fans knew word for word, but these were also some of the catchiest and easiest songs to jam and vibe to. By the set’s end, this performance felt less like an opener and more like a co-headline moment.
In prime boyband fashion, 5SOS hit the stage fashionably late by 10 minutes, building anticipation among the 10,000-plus attendees waiting to see their favorite band, whether they were longtime fans or newly converted ones. However, those that know, know that once the legendary “Macarena” starts playing and everyone starts dancing, the band is about to hit the stage. Soon after, fans were treated to a series of introduction videos playing into the idea of 5SOS as an ever-famous boyband. It’s fair to say that once things really got underway, the crowd was more than ready to sing along to all of their favorite songs and see what the band had in store for Pittsburgh. The excitement only grew as 5 Seconds of Summer kicked off the set from the now-iconic pink limousine that has been featured heavily throughout the Everyone’s a Star era.
If there is something that 5SOS knows how to do with every tour and every era, it’s structuring a show around their current persona, image, or overarching theme. With the Everyone’s a Star tour and album, their primary play is to make fun of the many people, publications, and critics who have called them simply a “boyband” after 15 years. In year one, maybe that was so. Maybe even after a couple years or a few albums. But as is life, people grow and so do music and artists… typically. 5 Seconds of Summer is no exception when it comes to growth and maturity in their music, as all four members have grown into a squad of insanely talented artists who form one hell of a supergroup after all these years. With that maturity in sound, they’ve now gone full tilt into mocking the very criticism that, after all these years, they’re still just a “boyband.” They’ve created songs and an entire multi-act concert chronicling the band’s peak, fall, yearning for better times, breakup, return/rise, and ultimately a new beginning. The concept reaches its comedic peak during a skit in which 5SOS receives the “WORLD’S GREATEST BOYBAND AWARD,” a tongue-in-cheek moment that perfectly captures the band’s willingness to laugh along with the labels that have followed them throughout their career. Throughout the night, the band doubled down on that self-aware humor with a variety of skits, including a parody of the viral AMC Movie Theaters commercial about “why we attend shows.”
As entertaining as the show’s format was, the crowd was just as invested in the music itself. With tracks sprinkled throughout the lengthy set from as early as their debut self-titled album all the way through the many songs performed from their brand-new album, Everyone’s a Star, there were hardly any moments where the packed arena fell silent, aside from the legendary moment that is Michael Clifford singing his solo part in “Jet Black Heart.” Crowd engagement was a major part of the experience as well. Whether it was a member of 5SOS playing to the army of fans surrounding the stage, the band’s signature onstage yapping and conversations with the audience, or the fan-voted song selection that ultimately resulted in the performance of “You Don’t Go to Parties,” every interaction helped make the massive production feel surprisingly personal.
Speaking of personal, one series of moments that will go down as some of my favorite concert memories came during “The Breakup,” where each member of the band took their place and performed one song from their solo albums. This section was just another example of how talented Calum, Ashton, Luke, and Michael are on their own, yet how seamlessly they can combine their talents to make a band so unique with a sound that is exclusively their own.
As if 5 Seconds of Summer ever needed to prove who they are, Everyone’s a Star sees the band take years of criticism, flip it on its head, and turn it into a full-scale world tour. Rather than shy away from those narratives, they leaned into them with humor, self-awareness, and confidence, allowing their growth and maturity to speak for itself. What may present itself as a joke concept on the surface ultimately reveals a layered, thoughtfully constructed show that highlights exactly how far the band has come. The framing may be playful, but the performances, the songwriting, and the musicianship are anything but a joke.
