Paramore - O2 Arena, London - November 13th 2010 (Live Review)
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Written by Katie Territt
It's been six years since Tennessee pop-punkers Paramore were formed, and over 7 million album and singles sales later, they've been given this moment - sold out shows at London's O2 Arena - the biggest shows they've played as a headline band.
Considering the three year gap between their second album, 'Riot!' and third release, 'Brand New Eyes' almost caused the band to split, it's a triumph to be playing such huge shows in a country that was a little slow to accept them into their music collections.
I didn't know exactly what to expect from a live Paramore show, having never seen them before, and I was quite surprised at the diverse range of ages that greeted me en-route to the O2. Having said that, it was evident once inside, from the screams around the arena, that Paramore have gained a huge teen following on the back of the success of Twilight and their contribution to the movie's soundtrack. Hoardes of screaming girls with painted faces and tons of "Para-phernalia" seemed to crowd the venue - was I at a McFly gig? Take That? Some other kind of boy band? Hmmm!
Anyway, onto the music, and once Paramore label-mates Fun and current chart rapper B.O.B had finished their sets, the crowd were warmed up and waiting for the main event. With a huge curtain surrounding the stage, the lights went down, the teens emptied their lungs of screams, and the band began playing, appearing as nothing but silouhettes. It didn't take long for the curtain to drop before they burst into a raucous performance of 'Ignorance', the first single release from current album 'Brand New Eyes'.
Hayley Williams proved why she's such a fantastic front woman, leaping around the stage in true rock stylee, yet still maintaining a strong vocal. The rest of the band are ridiculously tight, with drummer Zac Farro keeping the tunes in check as the band's backbone.
I fully admit that I'm a bit of a "singles" fan when it comes to Paramore. I know all the singles, hell I even know the words. But just don't ask me to name an album track as I'll be stumped. Because of this, I found some of those album tracks a bit samey almost, and found myself drifting off waiting for another single. I don't mean that to take anything away from the band, just that without knowing every song, it was sometimes a bit hard to differentiate between tracks. To be honest, it wasn't a huge issue because when Paramore did play their singles, they played them superbly. 'That's What You Get', 'crushcrushcrush' and particularly 'Decode' from the Twilight soundtrack drew huge cheers and singalongs from the crowd.
Halfway through the set, the band sat at the front of the stage with nothing but guitars and Hayley's voice for a mini acoustic set, with 'Misguided Ghosts' being the definite standout. It wasn't until the acoustic set that Hayley's voice really shone, but it's crystal clear that the girl really is talented.
'The Only Exception' closed the regular set beautifully, with lighters and mobile phones creating a perfect atmosphere in the dark arena - definite goosebump moment which is something I certainly didn't expect from a Paramore gig!
The obligatory "we're pretending we're finished but are going to come back on for an encore" ensued before the band came back full force with the fantastic 'Brick By Boring Brick' before ending the evening with huge single 'Misery Business', even giving way to a guest vocal slot from You Me At Six's Josh Franceschi.
It's easy to forget that Paramore are all in their early 20's when they put on such a polished mature performance. Whether the band only have a huge teen following off the back of Twilight or not, it's still given them the chance to shine and play huge shows that they may not have had the opportunity to do before. All in all, it was a great night, and a great band that I wouldn't hesitate to watch again as they're pretty damn impressive live - I'll just make sure I know a few more songs next time!
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Anyway, onto the music, and once Paramore label-mates Fun and current chart rapper B.O.B had finished their sets, the crowd were warmed up and waiting for the main event. With a huge curtain surrounding the stage, the lights went down, the teens emptied their lungs of screams, and the band began playing, appearing as nothing but silouhettes. It didn't take long for the curtain to drop before they burst into a raucous performance of 'Ignorance', the first single release from current album 'Brand New Eyes'. 
