Aussie Millennials have united to see The Jonas Brothers

Adult women have been seen popping on the outfits they used to wear in high school for a very simple reason.

COMMENT

There’s nothing quite like a Jonas Brothers concert to unite all the younger Aussie Millennials.

Let me enlighten you if you’re too old or young to understand who The Jonas Brothers are and their cultural significance.

The band isn’t actually a boyband in the same vein as One Direction or The Wanted, but rather, they are three brothers who happen to be in a band together and went through a long stage of wearing very tight pants.

Their fame probably peaked between 2007 and 2010, when the youngest brother, Nick Jonas, dated Miley Cyrus, and the middle brother, Joe Jonas, dated Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift.

This was also the period that the younger side of the Millennial generation was in high school, and therefore, fans between the age of 32-28 associate the boys with their teen years.

The Jonas Brothers were part of that Disney crew, and their two television musicals, Camp Rock (2008) and Camp Rock 2 (2010), were hugely successful.

The Brothers became famous on Disney. Picture: TikTok/jadekosp

Joe Jonas was in his element. Picture: TikTok/kennedycsiobhan

It hasn’t been downhill since then; the boys have maintained solid careers. They broke up in 2013, reunited in 2019, and have since been riding a steady wave of success.

It hasn’t hurt that Joe Jonas was previously married to Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, and they’ve since had a very public split. Nick Jonas also married high-profile actor Priyanka Chopra.

They’ve stayed in the cultural conversation, never quite cool, but there have been brief periods where they weren’t seen as completely cringe.

For Millennial fans, they were a key part of their coming-age experience. The way Nick Jonas shrieks Red Dress in their smash-hit Burning Up is forever seared into their brains.

The Jonas Brothers are playing in Australia for the first time since their mainstream success and are hitting Melbourne, Queensland and Sydney.

They kicked off their tour at the Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night. Just last week, rock band Blink 182 was playing there.

Everyone went back to dressing how they did in high school. Picture: Supplied

Shoes with no arch support were popular. Picture: Supplied

The type or crowd a musical act attracts is always interesting. When Blink 182 rolled into town, everyone dusted off the Converse they hadn’t worn since 2009 and desperately tried to fit back into their skinny jeans.

It was a sea of people that used to describe themselves as alternative in their early twenties and now had office jobs but hadn’t quite managed to throw out their last pair of sneakers that offered no arch support.

When Taylor Swift’s madness descended on Australia her appeal has become so mega that pretty much everyone was there, but there’s something about her break-up anthems that really appeal to the girl that works in HR and is really into dress-up parties.

There was a sea of young women who are organised in the kind of costumes that take months to prepare and adult funds to pull off.

For The Jonas Brothers, the younger Millennials reverted to dressing like they were in year 10 again for the night.

There were lots of elaborate hairdos. Do you remember when you used to bother to do your hair in a bit of a Princess Leia style? Well, women had decided to bring those back for the night.

Many women wore denim shorts, converse with no arch support or jeans and some version of a nice top.

The crowd was dressed the opposite of what you’d call chic.

You knew Millenials were in the crowd purely because of the footwear choices.

The Star Wars hair returned for the night. Picture: Supplied

I went for comfort. Picture: Supplied

I’m not above any of this. I was there, alongside my best friend since high school, and I’d worn my Hokas because I really do need arch support these days.

We’d opted to wear baggy pants. After all, we know fashion has changed, and we treated ourselves to some merch T-shirts because we both work full-time and can afford such luxuries.

In fact, my friend whipped out his AMEX to make such a purchase, which drives home the point we aren’t young anymore.

What happened to the glory days of the pink debit card?

We’d also enjoyed a lovely Thai meal before at 6pm and had already discussed brunch options for the next day.

At some point, we spent about five minutes trying to read a fan’s sign until we realised it was pointless with our fading eyesight.

“Of course, I can’t read someone’s sign without my reading glasses,” my mate quipped.

What was most hilarious was how Millennial the crowed behaved; women in their thirties dressed like teenagers again and shrieked like them.

It isn’t every day that a crowd of women will scream over men that aren’t over six feet. Nick Jonas is the shortest at 5 foot 6, and Kevin Jonas is the tallest at 5 foot 9.

People have loved these guys since they were in high school. Picture: TikTok/chloe_green00

People just rested during the break. Picture: Supplied

The Brothers played all five of their albums, but there was a brief intermission because they are Millennials. Yes, like you were seeing a theatre production and not a rock band. Is it too much to call them a rock band? They do play guitars.

What did fans do with this time?

Well, some went to the bar and others, probably those wearing shoes with poor arch support, sat down on the concrete in groups and happily chatted away as if they were at a house party that had reached the point where everyone is having a deep and meaningful.

There were certainly no screams or demands for them to come back immediately! Actually, everyone seemed quite happy with the break.

Once the boys returned to the stage everyone shrieked with joy and the excitement continued and there was extra excitement whenever any Jonas brother opted to remove his jacket.

The whole night was ridiculously fun, nostalgic and deeply Millennial.