5 Seconds Of Summer gig at Barfly Camden 7/4/13

With (left to right) Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings,Ashton Irwin and Calum Hood

I hadn't fully appreciated the rising popularity of 5 Seconds Of Summer until tickets to the gig sold out in a matter of seconds, which just goes to show how beneficial touring with a massive boyband like One Direction can be. Luckily, two of my friends and I managed to get our hands on some tickets for the acoustic performance and meet and greet at the Barfly in Camden, London. Going to a concert mid-afternoon felt a little odd, but this gave me a chance to take in my surroundings and have a proper look at the venue. Previously I had stated that Scala in Kings Cross was my favourite gig vicinity, but the Barfly gives it close competition due to the cute shops and bars outside and a cosy inside with great acoustics. 5 Seconds Of Summer, consisting of Luke, Calum, Michael and Ashton, are an Australian band who write and sing pop/rock songs and this was their first head-lining gig in the UK. They opened with 'Out Of My Limit' and then went on to sing most of their songs such as 'Gotta Get Out', 'Beside You' and 'Heartbreak Girl', as well as a cover of Busted's 'Year 3000'. Even though the set was only roughly forty minutes, the boys gave the crowd a great show despite the fact you could sense they were missing the large space to dance around on stage that they are used to on the 'Take Me Home' arena tour. An acoustic show does not have the same epic atmosphere of a rock show such as the 'We The Kings' gig, but I enjoyed singing along and hearing the stripped down voices. It was a shame the band did not perform 'Unpredictable' as that is one of my favourites, but this meant more time to for the meet and greet. All four members of the band were very polite and sweet when I met them and we took selfies on my phone, they all had told me that they really enjoyed the show and would love to do more in the future. The main thing that impressed me about the show was that the tickets were only £4 when they could have easily charged five times that amount, and that they spent four hours meeting fans including ones who could not get tickets to the show and waited outside. I thought this was an extremely nice gesture and proves that they are all about the music and not about the money. 5 Seconds Of Summer's music is not currently available on iTunes in the UK, but most of their songs can be found on YouTube if you fancy giving them a listen.

Passenger - The Wrong Direction

Do I agree this should be the title of a future Taylor Swift song? Yes, but that is beside the point. Similar to artists such as Ben Howard and Ed Sheeran who have been rising stars in the UK music scene, Passenger has a raspy folk voice and the ability to write a heart-felt acoustic track. This song is filled with clever, relatable lyrics that take a different stance on typical love songs today. I feel a song about the complications, awkwardness and fear involved with falling in love is more relevant for teenagers and first relationships rather than ones about 'forever'. Mark Rosenburg, from Brighton in the UK, began his career busking and the experiences he had whilst trying to make it in the tough world of music have clearly contributed to the emotion-driven undertones in his voice. Whilst this song has a faster guitar rythm which gives it an up-beat feel, songs from Passenger such as 'Let Her Go' have a soothing, lullaby sensation. I particularly love the horns near the end and the sweet, simplicity of the song. Let me know what you think!