Paramore are on a thriving journey once again following the release of After Laughter. We caught them in London on Tour One with their first European dates in years. The Royal Albert Hall is one of the most prestigious and beautiful venues in London and getting to play there is a privilege itself, let alone the fact it was sold out one. Paramore have certainly lived up to it.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Bleached knows how to get that California surf-punk thing going. With the additional 70’s hippie vibes and lots of girl power, they have to be one of the most impressive support bands to be witnessed these days. Perfect music for the hot summer daze, heatwaves and road trips.
It wasn’t a promising sign of a good time that the entire venue was seated this time however, all skepticism has left as Paramore exploded onto the stage with “Told You So.” While you always expect a good share of the classics (“That’s What You Get,” “Brick by Boring Brick”) and hits from the previous era (“Still Into You,” “Ain’t It Fun”) to be played, rarities come as a pleasant surprise – “I Caught Myself” is a personal favourite that managed to stay low-key next to the Twilight soundtrack monster of “Decode” back in the day.
Ballad “Hate To See Your Heart Break” turned the venue into a magical fairy-light land adding to the other emotional highlight of the night, where Hayley Williams greeted first time Paramore concert goers with a welcome home in her speech. Of course “Misery Business” went down in a frenzy with four fans having the time of their lives on stage. Feeling the artist-fan connection in these moments is what makes concert-going so worthy.
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Let’s be honest: we’ve all been very eager to hear the new songs live and while certain tracks of After Laughter could’ve been added, the ones that got played did not disappoint either – it’s the right place to sing along to “Fake Happy” and “Rose Colored Boy” at the top of your lungs. “Hard Times” as the final song during the encore finished off in true 80’s style synth pop dance party where not a single person in the house was left seated; the instrumental part at the end will blow your mind live. Taylor York, you grand wizard!
True camaraderie is where your bandmate gets to play a song from his solo project. In this case, the whole live band going off in a fun boogie to Zac Farro’s “Scooby’s in the Back” as HalfNoise. That’s a way to return without holding any grudges!
And that’s the return only this band is able to do. Constantly changing and reinventing yet they still remain authentic in their own way. That’s what makes them who they are.
They are Paramore.
We are Paramore.
