More about: Paramore

The lights have gone down. The anthemic guitars of ‘You First’ have seen Manchester’s AO Arena descend into riotous glory. A certain band have made their long-awaited, much-coveted return to Manchester. “Let me be the first to say it. We. Are. PARAMORE,” declares Hayley Williams. As if we could ever forget. 

A sizzling one-two punch of support slots from Rozi Plain and Bloc Party has seen the anticipation in the room grow to feverish levels - it’s been five years since Paramore graced Manchester with their presence and the excitement only grows. After bloodbath ticket sales and a brand-new album that meant the need to see the band live became insatiable, this string of shows has been a long time coming. 

"It’s a ferocious, formidable combination of best friends that have found a new level of performance"

Luckily, there’s no band better suited to live up to that pressure. Leading their set with two of the strongest tracks from this year’s ‘This Is Why’, ‘You First’ and ‘The News’, the band immediately prove that their energy has not waned since their last visit. As frontwoman Hayley Williams reminds us, the band are twenty years in now, but two decades later they seem at the absolute top of their game. Racing through a setlist of both old and new, the one mainstay is the absolute insanity of Hayley’s vocals, and the slick genius of drummer Zac Farro and guitarist Taylor York. It’s a ferocious, formidable combination of best friends that have found a new level of performance. 

Tracks like ‘That’s What You Get’ and ‘Hard Times’ lead the crowd into a frenzy, whilst more tender moments like ‘Liar’ still see the crowd latched onto every note and word. There are a few moments that seem to fall slightly flatter, but it’s an easy enough feat for Hayley to rile the room back up again. Not only is she one of the best vocalists we have right now, but arguably a standout frontwoman of the last decade, too. It’s hard not to be entranced by her energy and find yourself flailing along to those songs you’ve loved for years alongside her. 

As she gleefully kicks about the stage to ‘Still Into You’ (one of the evening’s highlights), there’s no doubt more than a few girls in that room suddenly longing and wishing to be in a band. Hayley has long been a source of major inspiration for girls in rock, and this show proves how she continues to be. It’s reassuring to think about how many women already have and will continue to have Hayley as a force to look up to. 

The kid walking in hand in hand with her copper-haired mother springs to mind – it’s absolutely going to be a formative experience for her and so many other women in that crowd, and in every crowd Paramore have played to over the years. The army of girls leaning on each other through a rare acoustic version of ‘Misguided Ghosts’ before bouncing back to life for ‘Misery Business’ speaks wonders of that particular skill of the band’s. 

With an on-stage cameo from up-and-comer band Peaness as the three musicians let their fangirl flag fly, the last few tracks in their set are a flurry of mass sing-alongs, killer riffs and mesmeric talent. Drawing the evening to a close with a double whammy of ‘The Only Exception’ and ‘This Is Why’, Paramore leave the stage having shown that regardless of how much time passes, they will remain one of the most exciting and impressive bands. The grins they leave us with seems to acknowledge that they’re aware of that, too. 

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More about: Paramore