As Shudder to Think left the stage, I made my way to the barricade on the south stage to see my favorite too-good-for-Warped band du jour, Paramore. Surprisingly I made it to about 4 rows from the barricade before the crowd gets too thick to pass. Said crowd was made up primarily of girls between the ages of 15 and 18 who clearly have better music taste than to sit at home and watch Hannah Frickin' Montana on TV*, and guys around my age who:
a) Think Paramore is a surprisingly fun band to listen to, despite being a touch juvenile, or
b) Think Hayley Williams is cute/attractive/hot/whathaveyou
I make no illusions about the fact that I fall into the latter category. The folks around me are dying to catch their first glimpse of Hayley Williams, concerned mostly about what color her hair is this week. With prime standing position, I can see other members of the band in the backstage area as they kill time before their start time. Then, in a stroke of luck and a touch of natural selection (I was the tallest in the immediate vicinity), I catch a glimpse of Williams joining the rest of the band backstage. In true fanboy mode, I shout "OHMYGOD THERE SHE IS!!!" and snap as many pics as I can. Eventually the actual music starts.
The thing I've always found about modern punk bands is that they sound great on their albums...but blow out the ass live. Fall Out Boy, The Used, even My Chemical Romance...all do good stuff in a studio, but in a live setting their at best average, at worst atrocious. The live bonus tracks I've heard from Paramore led me to think otherwise, but I was skeptical, as even live bonus tracks carry some production. In short, Paramore wowed me musically. The energy, the fun, and most of all, the quality of their performance comes through as well live as it does on both albums. Hayley Williams is a terrific performer who can work a crowd as well as people twice her age (for bonus points, she waved at me during the opener**). Paramore's set was mostly tracks from the newly platinum-certified Riot!, but as a bone to older fans, "Pressure" and "Here We Go Again" from their debut also popped up. I was hoping they'd play "Emergency", but due to the tween-friendly audience and the PG-13 nature of the song (it's about an abusive relationship), I see why it was passed over.
Paramore - Born For This [iTunes]
My only gripe about the show was as follows; look, I get the appeal of crowdsurfing. It's fun and it shows your enthusiasm. But there's a time and a place for it. The ballad is neither. To good music fans everywhere; pick your moments to crowdsurf wisely. You kill the mood otherwise.
I could go on and on about Paramore and Hayley Williams for pages (and I wouldn't really mind), but I think you get the picture. Paramore is winding down their tour soon and after that they're going in to record their third LP, but if you live in a city where they're slated to play, you'd do right to check them out.
Pics and a setlist are below.
Paramore @ Virgin Music Festival, 8/10/2008
Born For This
That's What You Get
Here We Go Again
Fences
Crushcrushcrush
Let the Flames Begin
When It Rains
Pressure
For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
Misery Business
Hayley is the one backstage with the striped shirt.
Hayley Williams radiates awesome.==TJ==
*If I ever mention Hannah Montana here again, you all have the right to throw something at me.
**I'm about 95% sure she really did wave at me. And don't crush my dreams by saying she probably didn't. That'd just be mean.
2 comments:
She didn't wave at you.
~Ray
the fact that you said both paramore and TBS were bad live makes me doubt that you know anything. i'm a 20 year old guy, and i was there too.
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