There are few people in the world that could pull off half-plaid, half-studded shorts, raccoon-like eye makeup, and singing while lying on their back on a stage in front of 20,000 people, but one of them is definitely the amazing Hayley Williams, singer-songwriter for Paramore.
About two weeks ago, Paramore played at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, a huge music festival showcasing many famous artists, including Biffy Clyro, Ellie Goulding, Vampire Weekend, Bruno Mars, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, to mention just a few. As soon as I heard about that amazing lineup I was sure I needed to hear some of the performances and found that someone had posted Paramore's full performance. I watched and was not disappointed.
For those of you that have been living under a rock , Paramore is a punk/pop/rock fusion band based in Tennessee and is made up of singer-songwriter Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis and guitarist Taylor York. I had been getting pretty into their music over the last few months, particularly their older albums, Brand New Eyes and Riot! and having listened to many of their songs, I guessed they were probably a great live band - their songs are great to dance to and Hayley’s vocals sounded really good.
This, however, barely does any justice to the reality of what their live shows are like.
At big weekend, Paramore played songs ranging from their second album, Riot!, to their newest self-titled album. They started off with a bang, playing their hugely popular song, Misery Business, instantly setting the mood for the rest of the concert with its catchy chorus, loud guitars, and energetic mood. Taylor, Jeremy, and Hayley ran around the stage, yelled to the crowd to sing along, danced, and really made sure everybody was comfortable and having fun, whether they knew their music or not. After that they went straight into Decode, showcasing Hayley’s incredible vocals and providing a great sing-along for the everyone who was there. However, the spell didn’t last long with at the end of the song the quiet outro roughly transitioned into possibly the best performance of the night, with their new song Now. Hayley’s energy and intensity in this brought the whole crowd screaming and dancing as she called them to sing along, headbanged, fell to her knees and sang her heart out all in this one song.
Throughout the whole show, Hayley's vocals were for the most part fantastic, especially in the songs Decode (at 3:47), Now (at 8:17), Let the Flames Begin (at 23:40) and That's What You Get ( at 31:11). She, Taylor, and Jeremy all performed with animation hardly matched by any other bands.
Hayley proved also to be a ridiculously passionate performer - at one point, laying flat on her back on the stage at a particularly emotional point in a song. Though she for the most part it really seemed like she was just rocking out having a great time, it did sometimes seem a little over the top, with her very dramatic makeup and performing style (watch at Let the Flames Begin around 28 minutes, where she was lying on her back). Their exuberance also occasionally made her vocals messy (see in Misery Business or Only Exception, 19:05) and there were a few audible mistakes in the guitar.
But, as I have said, I was mostly just blown away with how well they can work the stage, no matter how long they've been playing and running around - their last song was just as impressive as the first even after playing for 45 minutes. They created an amazing atmosphere of excitement and fun in the crowd that they intended to leave as long as possible, at the last song calling for them to cheer for Bruno Mars, the next performer of the night. That feeling could be felt even watching it after the fact just on a computer screen. I had initially not really liked the songs I had heard off their newest album very much but after seeing this, especially Now, I may just go listen to the rest of the album.
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