With all the soap opera goings on that have happened in the Paramore camp over the past year or so tonight is Paramore’s first UK gig in two years, three years since their last Belfast appearance and what a show it is.
But first up is local lads Jody Has A Hitlist, with a lot of Irish fans in the crowd the band run through some of their catchiest songs and easily get the crowd singing and jumping along.
Next up is Pure Love who are a band that alot of people will be interested to see (including myself) mainly for one reason, to see Frank Carter’s new band. Playing through the songs ‘Bury My Bones’ and ‘Handsome Devils Club,’ the band are really impressive and have everyone’s attention. Of course Frank gets up to his usual antics of going into the midst of the crowd to sing his way through a few more of the band’s songs. As the band goes offstage they have definitely won over alot of new fans and who knew Frank could sing?!.
You Me At Six are one band who have gained alot of success in the UK and over the pond in the US. Playing through songs like ‘Bite My Tongue’, ‘Loverboy’ and ‘Jaws On The Floor’ off of their latest album, the band have the crowd going crazy. Deciding to play alot of new songs in favour of older songs, it does disappoint but the band does a good job and fully warm the crowd up for what is next.
Onto the headline act that everyone has been waiting for for so long, Paramore. A new intro leading into ‘Brick By Boring Brick’ in which they come out fast and impressive. Showcasing new songs from the singles club, ‘Renegade’, ‘Monster’ and ‘Hello Cold World’ all sound great live with the crowd singing every word back to the band.
Slowing things down halfway through the set, Hayley and guitarist Taylor York play through ‘In The Mourning’ with a rendition of ‘Landslide’ added as well, it turns out to be an emotional affair for many long standing fans.
Picking things back up the band play through some songs that haven’t been played live in a long time, ‘Whoa’, ‘Fences’, ‘Born For This’ and ‘Hallelujah’ surprise fans and let the band shake off the cobwebs and get back into the swing of things.
Hayley, of course, is humble of the audience and explains as she puts it “The soap opera called Paramore has been cancelled and now it’s something else and we hope you continue to watch and ride along with us, so here’s that theme song.” Running into ‘Ignorance’ the band jump and run around the stage not missing a note. Songs like ‘Decode’ and ‘Careful’ carry on the bands enthusiasm as they use the whole of the stage and barely stand still for a second.
The band of course have the usual stage antics, with Hayley dancing and stomping around the stage and who could miss Jeremy’s flip over Taylor during the song ‘Pressure’. The band is definitely going all out tonight and it pays off as the whole crowd are transfixed on the band. Coming back on for an encore to run through the crowd favourite ‘Misery Business’ the crowd goes mental, with a fan being brought on stage to sing the last few notes the night finishes perfectly.
Paramore’s Belfast appearance was an important one as it showed the UK audience that the band is not going anywhere anytime soon. The next time the band are in the UK, they’ll have a new album to play live and the crowds will be just as big, just as loud and the band will be just as, if not even more impressive.
Paramore are here to stay.
Setlist:
Brick By Boring Brick
Renegade
Born For This
For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
Decode
That’s What You Get
Pressure
Careful
In The Mourning/ Landslide
The Only Exception
Hallelujah
Fences
Looking Up
Ignorance
Monster
Whoa
Encore:
Hello Cold World
Misery Business
Words by Aaron Wilson (@soundslikeajw)
