Pretty Nifty — Real Bands Save Fans. Real Fans Save Bands. That’s 5 Seconds of Summer’s Pact.

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - August 16: 5 Seconds of Summer bring their “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” Tour to Coca-Cola Amphitheater. (Photo by Dylan Basden for Pretty Nifty)

5 Seconds of Summer return to Alabama for the first time in more than a decade on their “Everyone’s A Star! World Tour.”

This album cycle and its subsequent tour have seen the band catapulted back into the limelight, with EVERYONE’S A STAR! receiving the best critical and fan acclaim the band has ever seen alongside sold-out arena shows at Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum. Notably, the band recently made an appearance at Lollapalooza where their specialized stage production read “Real Fans Save Bands,” a reference to Michael Clifford’s tweet from nearly thirteen years ago. The band also were backed by their iconic tally mark logo for the first time since 2014 after a lengthy legal debate.

EVERYONE’S A STAR! focused largely on themes of ego, fame, and striking a balance with fans, a tough nut to crack for a band with as rabid of a fanbase as 5 Seconds of Summer. It seems the band meant business when they wrote it, as they’ve clearly come to embody the album on tour. Dividing the show into five acts, 5SOS have put together a story that charts the album’s message, weaving in old songs with the new to set the stage perfectly. Following the band’s freshly cemented stardom (The Peak), their fall from grace (The Fall), their struggles with being diminished (The Yearning), the band’s rise back into popularity (The Rise), and finally their fresh start (The Beginning), this setlist reads more akin to a concept album’s track list than a major pop tour. The sheer amount detail and narrative plot makes this show rise from just another concert tour to a true piece of performance art.

I think it is especially noteworthy that the band really hasn’t skipped any markets on their worldwide tour either, especially stateside. Their show in Birmingham, Alabama embodies this—electing to perform a show that was not expected to sellout in a tertiary market is most definitely fan-focused. Birmingham is a rather easy market to pass over, especially for international pop artists, as the city is best known for its love of hip-hop and country music. It is also a notoriously difficult market to sell tickets in, an even harder hurdle on a weeknight show such as this one. To laser in and give fans in isolated areas a chance to see their favorite band is stellar work by 5SOS, it is a level of care not often seen.

While this second leg of tour is trimmed back from the first run of arena dates, the band cut their solo songs and scaled down production, they still over deliver on the price of admission. New songs such as “NOT OK” and “istillfeelthesame” are incredible to finally hear live alongside fan favorites like “She’s Kinda Hot” and “English Love Affair.” The band is also sure to keep their secret song tradition alive, with the audience opting for “Start Over” this go around. While their stage limited their crowd projection abilities compared to their past dates, the band still made the audience feels right in the action, even from the back of the 200s where I was seated.

Setlist

Act I – The Peak

NOT OK
No. 1 Obsession
Teeth
Act II – The Fall
Easier
More
itstillfeelthesame
No Shame
PowerPoint Break
She’s Kinda Hot
Boyband
Telephone Busy
Evolve
Act III – The Yearning
Bad Omens
Ghost of You
I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again
Act IV – The Rise
Amnesia
Start Over
Act V – The Beginning
English Love Affair
Voodoo Doll
Don’t Stop
Jet Black Heart
She Looks So Perfect
Encore
Everyone’s a Star!
Youngblood

5 Seconds of Summer are on the tail end of their U.S. run of shows, but still have plenty of dates ahead in Central American, South America, Oceania, and South Asian.

You can find all of 5 Seconds of Summer’s upcoming tour dates here.

Aug 18 – Rogers, AR – The Walmart Amp^*

Aug 20 – Kansas City, MO – Morton Amphitheater^*

Aug 22 – Denver, CO – Junkyard^*

Aug 26 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre^*

Aug 28 – Mountainview, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre^*

Aug 29 – Las Vegas, NV – PH Live at Planet Hollywood^

Sep 9 – Mexico City, MX – Sports Palace

Sep 11 – Guadalajara, MX – Telmex Auditorium

Sep 12 – Monterey, MX – Citibanamex Auditorium

Sep 16 – Buenos Aires, AR – Movistar Arena

Sep 18 – São Paulo, BR – Suhai Music Hall

Sep 20 – Belo Horizonte, BR – Befly Hall

Sep 22 – Santiago, CL – Movistar Arena

Sep 24 – Bogotá, CL – Movistar Arena

Sep 27 – Lima, PE – Costa21

Oct 24 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena~

Oct 28 – Brisbane, AU – Riverstage~

Oct 30 – Sydney, AU – Qudos Bank Arena~

Nov 2 – Melbourne, AU – Rod Laver Arena~

Nov 4 – Adelaide, AU – Adelaide Entertainment Centre~

Nov 6 – Perth, AU – Kings Park~

Nov 9 – Bangkok, TH – UOB Live

Nov 11 – Manila, PH – MOA Arena [SOLD OUT]

Nov 12 – Manila, PH – MOA Arena [SOLD OUT]

Nov 14 – Jakarta, ID – Indonesia Arena [SOLD OUT]

Nov 16 – Singapore, SG – Star Theatre [SOLD OUT]

Nov 17 – Kuala Lumpur, MY – Axiata Arena [SOLD OUT]

Nov 19 – Seoul, KR – Kintex Hall 1

Nov 21 – Tokyo, JP – SGC Hall [SOLD OUT]

Nov 22 – Tokyo, JP – SGC Hall

Nov 27 – Hong Kong, HK – AXA Wonderland

Nov 29 – Manila, PH – SM Mall of Asia Arena

Dec 3 – Singapore, SG – Star Theatre

Dec 4 – Kuala Lumpur, MY – UNIFA Arena

Dec 6 – Jakarta, ID – Indonesia Arena

^ with The Band CAMINO

* with Haiden Henderson

~ with Club Sport

5 Seconds of Summer are one of the top bands in the game right now, no questions asked. The music is the best it has ever been, the shows are some of the highest quality performances you can see this year, and the band simply feels alive and rejuvenated. This is a tour that has been tailor-crafted to not only showcase the work and message of EVERYONE’S A STAR!, but to also put fans first in a way very few bands can do nowadays. In 2013 Michael Clifford tweeted “[r]eal bands save fans, real fans save bands” and I don’t think 5 Seconds of Summer have forgotten their half of the bargain nor do I see them easing up on it anytime soon.

Real Bands Save Fans. Real Fans Save Bands. That’s 5 Seconds of Summer’s Pact.

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