Paramore @ Challenge Stadium,Perth (10/10/10)

Tue 12th Oct, 2010 in Gig Reviews

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To say that opening act The Jury and the Saints were interesting was an understatement. As soon as the introduction slipped into a bouncier, hip hop type beat, the duo of Jesse Smith (Vocals/Guitar) and Rowan Crowe (Drums/Vocals) hopped onto the stage, hi-fiving and jumping around like adolescents who’ve just discovered porn. Launching into a kickstart with Yesterday’s History, both Smith and Crowe radiated energy and enthusiasm that would put cheerleaders to shame. As impressive as their onstage presences were, it didn’t seem to faze the audience as movement was suppressed when Crowe called for a circle pit. Their brand of electro-laced pop-punk is infectious and crowd-pleasing with vocals sometimes reminiscent of Faker, if Faker added synths and didn’t take themselves so seriously which obviously, these guys didn’t.

Between making fun of their own accents, laughing at their own jokes and initiating “sparkle fingers” they pumped out more energetic tunes such as Brand New which had the crowd popping up and down with hands up in the air. Nothing caused more of a stir than when the guys claimed that they had a new song to play, naming it Dynamite. As the first few chords of Taio Cruz’s top 40 chart topper pumped from the amplifiers, there was a roar of applause. To further the uproar a masked figure with a flame-coloured ponytail clambered onto the stage to take over the drums whilst Crowe made his way to one side of the stage to do concentric back flips across to the other side of the stage. Impressive and entertaining, the duo definitely used their time and made themselves known during their 5 or so song set list.

The last time Relient K (named after a car guitarist Matt Hoopes’ owned/s) came to Perth, they were playing to a completely different crowd. This crowd was filled with mostly adolescent teen girls and the last, god fearing folk. Christian label aside, they sing about life without the Christian references and sound good doing it. Singer Matt Thiessen’s vocals matched up well to his recorded offerings and with seven studio albums; there was a lot to offer. They played songs such as Be My Escape and High of 75 with the dream like vocals of Owl City and fun lyrics not unlike thoughts and ramblings of an observant teenager going through self-discovery which is probably why they appeal so much to the pre-pubescents. As good as they sound, their stage presence lacked lustre, especially after following the last act. Not a body moved in the house song-after-song.

To change the tone a little Relient K pulled out a cover of Toto’s Africa which received a rapturous applause from the audience. Though, if any of them actually knew it- it was a mystery as most attendees looked as though they were born after the nineties. Pulling up to the end of their set, not much had changed and the crowd still had little to no reaction.

After a rather quick change-over a black sheet hid the stage from view. All of a sudden the lights went out shrouding the room in darkness and the rumbling of feet from the seating section echoed. A drum beat rung out and some strategically place spotlighting from behind revealed the silhouettes of Paramore. The curtain opened to reveal swinging lightbulbs and high pitched screams that were loud enough to make your ears bleed came from all directions as Paramore launched into teenage anthem Ignorance and followed that with earlier hits such as That’s What You Get and Emergency. Front woman Hayley Williams’ freshly dyed, signature orange-red mane flowed violently as she head banged her way into her fans’ hearts. Stopping to catch her breath after a couple of songs Williams felt the need to remind the audience of her band and to challenge the audience shouting, “Is that all you got?” It must be said though that the crowd’s participation was disappointing.

It took a couple more songs before the crowd really warmed up to the flame haired punk princess. Just as the demeanour of the crowd started to melt the stage crew pulled up a couch for the acoustic section of the show. It was apparently a night for covers as they gave a taste of Nashville, Tennessee with a cover of Loretta Lynn’s You Ain’t Woman Enough. A country ditty was the last thing anyone was expecting but the response of lighters/mobiles/glowsticks was overwhelming. It just goes to show that no matter what genre Paramore play they will always have an aesthetically pleasing sound lending to the fact that they know how to charm their target market. Moving through hit after hit they only gathered momentum until they got the whole stadium on their feet. Two young gents in the front row of seating were the only ones refusing to stand and were spotted by Williams. For what felt like forever, Williams had a staring contest with the two boys letting on that she would not give up. Giving in eventually, the boys stood and the band burst into Crushcrushcrush. Finishing the set with The Only Exception the room was filled with gasps as a waterfall of sparks shot out from behind the band.

An encore came quickly as the band came back out onto the stage to send the crowd off with Brick By Boring Brick and Misery Business. At this point Williams’ vocals were waning as she had strained through every song but pulled through, letting the audience fill in when necessary. Josh Farro, Jeremy Davis and Taylor York all synchronized on their guitars as they banged their heads along to the tune whilst Zac Farro enthusiastically banged on his skins. Word for word, the songs were sung by the crowd who were almost as loud as Williams and with the final note the whole band left the stage, waving to a standing ovation. Paramore are always critiqued about how their mainstream success makes them irrelevant but, go to a Paramore show anywhere and you’ll see that Hayley Williams can charm the pants off anyone.

Paramore Set list:
Ignorance
Feeling Sorry
That’s What You Get
For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
Emergency
Playing Gog
Careful
Decode
You Ain’t Woman Enough (Cover)
When It Rains
Where the Lines Overlap
Misguided Ghosts
Crushcrushcrush
Pressure
Looking Up
The Only Exception

Encore:
Brick By Boring Brick
Misery Business

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