Boy-band pandemonium isn’t quite as prevalent now as it was in the days of *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, but that same kind of mania is very much still alive wherever Why Don’t We goes. The five-piece group (Corbyn Besson, Daniel Seavey, Jack Avery, Jonah Marais and Zach Herron) has been on its Invitation Tour since the end of February, stopping by New York City’s PlayStation Theater to manifest that fandemonium with not one, not two, but three sold-out shows.
On Sunday, the second night of the run, the excitement was as alive as if the WDW guys had never been in town before. The crowd — which mainly consisted of tween and teenage girls and their moms — was electric even before the night’s opener, EBEN, began, with Z100’s Maxwell provoking even more excitement as he stood in front of Why Don’t We’s stage structure to introduce them.
“You guys know what’s gonna happen on the ramp, right?” he teased to ear-piercing screams.
The energy in the room at a Why Don’t We show is enough to show that the group has struck a chord with the same kind of crowds their predecessors once did, but it’s their performance that ultimately proves that they have the talent to back it up. Check out five takeaways from The Invitation Tour below.
They’re not trying to emulate those who came before them.
As the Why Don’t We guys previously expressed to Billboard, they all connect to the music that’s popular today more than they do the poppier tunes berthed by the likes of BSB and *NSYNC. This is already apparent in their bass-heavy songs, but their performance brings that to life as well: They don’t have any extreme choreography, and they have a mashup bit with songs like Ed Sheeran‘s “Shape of You” and Lil Pump‘s “Gucci Gang” that fits seamlessly into their 20-song set.
Their simple dance moves are charming.
Why Don’t We formed from the five guys pursuing their own vocal-driven solo careers, so dancing was never really in their repertoire anyway. Yet, instead of pulling a One Direction and doing absolutely no choreography on stage, WDW incorporates little synchronized moves with their feet and bodies as they sing, which is practically just as engaging as the most difficult of dance numbers. Judging by the crazed screams that followed every move, the fans aren’t disappointed by the simplicity.
Fans are aplenty (and rabid).
Even though the crowd was clearly feeling the vibe that EBEN brought to his opening set, “Why Don’t We” chants started almost as soon as the in-between music began, happening several times before they took the guys actually took the stage. This was just one of the many ways the fans showed their next-level excitement: They’d also squeal practically every time a different member would start singing in each song, they’d dance even during outfit changes, and — even in a younger-skewing crowd — one eager fan even threw a bra on stage.
Their stage setup has serious potential.
The last time the guys were in New York for a headlining show, they were playing Gramercy Theatre (for their Something Different Tour last summer), where they had nothing but themselves on stage. This time around, they had a structure with a spot for each guy to stand in front of a screen that is either flashing an image of themselves, a solid color that creates a silhouette, or words to their songs — and during their sweet romance tune, “Just To See You Smile,” the screens played a cute ode to the fans with a montage of meet and greets and crowd shots. And as Maxwell referenced before the guys’ set, there’s ramps for them to run up and down, something that could easily translate to an arena stage one day — perhaps with pyro, next time?
They give each other time to shine.
Most of Why Don’t We’s songs give each member a chance to take a line or two, which means they get to do the same when they perform the tracks live. Their show includes choreography that put the singer at the forefront, whether it’s a turning group circle or freeze-frame-style movements that put full attention on whoever is singing. The most endearing part about Why Don’t We’s show, though, is how genuinely happy each member looked throughout the entire thing. Surely they feed off the energy of their enthusiastic fans, but their excitement is just as infectious, and something that will carry them to plenty more headlining tours to come.
don’t want this to end. pic.twitter.com/AZY3a6JSm1
— Why Don’t We (@whydontwemusic) April 18, 2018