5 Seconds of Summer - June 2015 "ROWYSO" Tour (Soundcheck Package)

Seeing 5 Seconds of Summer on their 'Rock Out With Your Socks Out' tour was extremely different from any other concert that I have been to, as my friend, Chloe and I, managed to book ourselves the Soundcheck Package.

Although I have gone through this experience before (One Direction Stadium Tour Hospitality Package), I had never been given the chance to "meet" (term used loosely) the artist that I was going to be watching later that night. We arrived relatively early to ensure we had good seats, especially as we didn't know what to expect or how many people were going to be there alongside us, and I am so glad that we got there at the time that we did. We made a friends with the people around us, and time went pretty quickly due to this, which I am grateful for.

Inside during the soundcheck, we managed to watch the band rehearse a couple of songs (which, obviously, is what usually happens within a soundcheck), and it felt as though we were having a small intimate gig before the actual concert had even started. After a few song practises, the four band members sat down on the edge of the stage and the crowd got to ask them a few questions. At first, it felt a bit awkward (not sure if it was just me) but then conversation with the crowd started to flow naturally, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.
When you think of other bands and if they did a soundcheck package, you would not expect this kind of interaction and "intimacy" that occurred in that room, making it 100% worth the money that was spent. Touching on money, also, it was only £90 for the package, which I think is extremely "affordable" when compared to how much other artists charge and what you get included. When I paid for the Hospitality Package for One Direction, I paid £150 for one ticket and thought the whole idea of the package was for a meet and greet. When I turned up, it was a buffet and they had a cardboard cutout that you could have your picture taken with. The seats were at the back of the stadium and the whole thing was the biggest waste of money I have spent. Was the concert good? Absolutely! But was it worth the money? HELL NO.

Going back to the ROWYSO Tour, after the soundcheck we went back in to a queue within the venue as they set up the final items needed for the show, and then we went through in to the crowd. As we had just turned 18, myself and Chloe though we could grab a beer before we entered the main room again, however by going over to the bar we realised how old we were in comparison to a lot of the crowd, which seemed odd to us at the time.

When walking back in to the main arena, we had tickets for the pod that was located on the right-hand side, in front of Bassist, Calum. We managed to get barrier due to how early we had arrived, and managed to have a front row view of the whole show. During the show, Ashton made an announcement that they were filming for a tour DVD, which explained all the large cameras placed around the stage. When they released this DVD, we realised that we were actually on it at one point! Bit embarrassing, however cool nonetheless.

Overall, this is probably one of my favourite concerts so far and I am definitely pleased that I paid the money for the soundcheck package. Probably one of the most down to earth bands that I have ever had the pleasure of watching and meeting, I would definitely recommend paying the money for any packages that they have available in the future if you are wondering whether it is worth it or not. For the 5th time seeing them live personally, I never seem to get bored. Hopefully I manage to see them again some time soon, and look forward to any new music that they will be releasing.
Their second album will be releasing some time soon this year.