“What’s up, Fairfax? Some of you out there might know, some of you might not… so for those of you who don’t know, WE ARE PARAMORE!”
We were lucky enough to be offered two free tickets to Paramore’s Self-Titled Tour on November 9, 2013 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. The whole experience, opening bands and all, was an unforgettable one.
Hellogoodbye introduced the night with six superb songs that definitely set the mood for the show. Their set included a fan favorite, “Here (In Your Arms)”, which got everyone in the crowd singing along and having a good time. Their positive attitudes and talented performance left us interested in their recent album, Everything Is Debatable, which can be found on iTunes.
Metric certainly kept the standards high with their energetic set, which was unfortunately cut short to six songs due to technical difficulties. Their songs were very upbeat and hard-edge, and although they weren’t well known by the audience, it was made obvious by the dancing that the crowd was satisfied. The band’s energy undeniably transferred to the thousands of eager fans.
As the lights finally dimmed and the screams erupted throughout the arena, the curtains dropped to reveal the band everyone had been waiting for, standing on a well-decorated stage filled with lights and a unique backdrop. Paramore opened their set with “Grow Up”, the third song on their recent self-titled album.
Their set was extensive with 21 songs including the three-song encore. These songs were an equal balance of all four albums they have produced over the years. Despite the technical difficulties that repeatedly occurred during the second half of the set, the show exceeded our expectations with its level of animation and excitement.
The fourth song into the set was easily recognizable as a favorite when guitar player Taylor York kicked off the melody to “Decode”. The crowd sang their hearts out to this exhilarating song as the light effects turned a cool green and shot lasers throughout the stadium.
“I’m Not Angry Anymore” kicked off the first of three interludes, which are also featured on their recent album. The interludes were performed on ukulele with a single spotlight shining on the three members of Paramore. Each of the three interludes is only about one minute long.
It surely was an incredible sight to see the crowd so involved with the show. During the tenth song of the night, the audience lit up with cell phones waving back and forth as the band slowed things down with the song “Last Hope”. While singing, lead singer Hayley Williams beautifully played piano at the front of the stage. “It’s just a spark, but it’s enough to keep me going”.
Prior to playing “Crushcrushcrush”, one of their most well-known songs from back in 2007, Williams brought the crowd to its feet and made sure everyone was ready to go all-out. “For the next three minutes, I want everyone to be dancing. If someone next you sits down, just sorta smack them and tell them to stand back up,” she said.
The sixteenth song played during the night was particularly notable. ”In The Mourning” is a song that was written by the band in 2011 that is not available on any of the four albums or for sale on iTunes, but can be downloaded from the official Paramore website. The song is a more diverse sound than their usual alternative/pop mix, but based on the fans’ response, it is still one of the band’s well-liked songs.
“Pressure”, the seventeenth song of the night, was a song that appealed to some of the older fans. The song is off of their first album, All We Know Is Falling, from 2005. York and bass player Jeremy Davis performed a well-executed flip-like stunt that caught the audience’s attention. It was also during “Pressure” that the band encountered their first technical difficulty of the night, when the sound was dropped during the second chorus. The sound was dropped again during “Part II”, the first encore.
The last song before the encore was “Misery Business”, the most often played Paramore song. The fans were undoubtedly excited to sing and dance along to this 2007 classic. Right before the last chorus, Williams brought two die-hard fans up on stage to help finish singing the song.
The show was concluded with the recent popular single “Still Into You”. The band definitely brought the night to an end with a bang with this fun, upbeat track. Near the end, butterfly confetti and balloons were released into the general admission crowd.
As demonstrated by their fantastic performance, Paramore was able to prove how inspiring musicians can truly be for their fans. Even during the roughest of times on the road or the peskiest technical difficulties on stage, the band still gave their all for the show and wowed everyone in the audience.
“Life’s been crazy these past four years, a lot of ups and downs,” Williams said on stage during the show. “We three as a band learned to face the things that come at us.”
