5ive were keen to point out to a high-pitched Point Depot on Thursday that what transpired in a Dublin pub the previous evening wasn't "an Ireland-England thing" nor were they in any kind of feud with those other giants of the boyband circuit, Westlife.
In fact, 5ive love Ireland, they love Westlife and they love us. Their PR-polished spiel was perfectly matched by their performance on the evening - calculated, ill-conceived (probably by someone else) and awkwardly delivered.
From their pyrotechnical arrival onstage atop Harley Davidsons, the entire show was an overblown, underwhelming affair.
Their pitch is basically a variation on the Louis Walsh boyband theme - they're cute and cuddly but they're also just that little bit dangerous. Musically, this tougher edge comes in the form of a hotchpotch of rock 'n' roll backing (a la Queen and Suzie Quattro) and the more obvious rhymes and affectations of US hip-hop. Add to this some sub-Steps dance routines and you have a band which seemed to have too much on their hands.
