Paramore at AO Arena
Image credit: @zacharygray on instagram.
Manchester was blessed with the presence of Paramore last week - and I was lucky enough to be in attendance.
The AO arena was sold out and I stood in GA (near the back of the arena) and had an unspoiled view of the band which was incredible albeit unexpected.
Unfortunately, I missed the support acts: Rozi Plain and Bloc Party… I know, I know, cancelled. However, I recommend checking them both out.
Rozi Plain is for the mellower, warmer souls – the perfect soundtrack for a spring/summer walk, your favourite café, falling in love, or anything that makes you feel nostalgic for the present.
Bloc Party is for the enigmatic, effervescent, roisters – they soundtracked many ‘00s youths' merrymaking.
Paramore opened their set with ‘You First’ from their latest album ‘This Is Why’ – if you’re a fan of the band it should come as no surprise that Hayley Williams stage presence was hypnotic. ‘You First’ is the politest “fuck you” I have ever heard: “Everyone is a bad guy, and there’s no way to know who’s the worse, karma’s gonna come for us all, I just hope she comes for you first”. You tell ‘em. Throughout the show, the screens supported a red filter and switched between negative inverted images and normal positive images. Taylor York’s riffs are haunting, the sound of karma hunting its prey. Williams brazenly sings: “Never said I wasn’t petty” and suddenly every petty thing I have ever done was validated with the visual of red, white, and black confetti being pumped into the air.
Williams introduced the band and launched into ‘That’s What You Get’ – in this moment I transformed into the twelve-year-old version of myself who had ‘RIOT!’ downloaded on my Blackberry mobile, exclusively wore black skinny jeans, flannel shirts (the ugly kind), and chokers from Claire’s Accessories. Except, some things have changed: I’m now twenty-one, in a long-term loving queer relationship, have good friends, a job I love, hobbies, and finally… a sense of style and an iPhone.
‘After Laughter’ is a favourite album of mine and there is irony in ‘Caught In The Middle’ for me. I used to listen to the lyrics: “I can’t think of getting old, it only makes me want to die” when I was sixteen and think of my current age... and now I relate more to "I can't think of who I was cause it just makes me want to cry". It was a surreal experience to be surrounded by thousands of people chanting: “No, I don’t need no help, I can sabotage me by myself, I don’t need no-one else, I can sabotage me by myself” instead of being alone in my room chanting to myself and Jesus. Zac Farro’s drumming and York's riffs are quintessential to the positive vibe the instrumental of this song provides – helping us find light in the darkness.
When asked ‘Ain’t It Fun’? The answer is that it certainly is. This is one of the monumental songs of my own youth, one that I’ll force my own children to listen to with a whole spiel of memories attached to it, and they’ll pretend to be bored and hate it and then stream it in secret. During the worst of my teenage years, this song made me excited for the future – even watching the music video where they broke tons of world records “just cause” made adulthood seem exhilarating.
Williams prefaced “Decode’ with “This is a song for all the vampires” – in my humble opinion, this song is one of the singular positive things that came out of the Twilight films. In fact, it set them up for failure. How can anything outperform Paramore?
‘Misery Business’ is a song that connects both the old and the new fans, one of the only instances were misogyny tastes so good. Williams let the crowd sing: “I let his wildest dreams come true, not one of them involving you, just watch my wildest dreams come true, not one of them involving…” and we anticipated York’s iconic guitar solo… However, she just said “Gotcha…” and picked three audience members - some from the bleachers and general admission. Ironically, members from an indie-pop band Peaness (a name which now holds a firm place in Williams head) were among those who were chosen – they are worth checking out.
‘All I Wanted’ has finally made its way onto the band's setlist, and it was a spiritual experience to watch Williams belt it out - I like to think this is from the other girl's perspective whose relationship was tarnished by the antics of 'Misery Business'. It’s one of those songs that make you feel as though you’re levitating – and if there were a female version of Scott Pilgrim, it would soundtrack the final fight scene (femcels rise... for legal reasons that was a joke).
The night ended with “This Is Why”, which was ironic because for once I felt happy that I left the house. Red, white, and black confetti flew around the stadium and my partner was off running, she was not missing her chance for some tour memorabilia – and the different colours individually stated “This”, “Is”, “Why”. In this era, everyone feels entitled to information about each other's private lives, and the right to impose their opinions on situations, and as Williams sings: "If you have an opinion, maybe you should shove it, or maybe you could scream it, probably best to keep it to yourself".
Paramore’s gig at Manchester’s AO Arena was one of the most memorable concerts I’ve attended so far – the arena may hold 21,000 people but Paramore have a way of creating an intimate, personal, and safe space in the most immense areas. I urge you to check out the band if you are unfamiliar, and attend their next gig – you will not regret it.
