Originally published by L.S. Media. November 11th 2012.
If anything was going to take the chill and damp out the Merseyside air then a night of rock by one of the brightest young American bands to visit Britain in a long time would remove the gloom and despondency that overshadowed the city.
Paramore have come a long way in the last six years, from the fringes and largely ignored by the mainstream to one of the best and intense bands to catch live. Their gigs are considered to be one of the best you can catch live and on the basis of their performance at the Echo Arena it is easy to see why.
The band opened up the night with the terrific and bouncy Ignorance from the last studio album Brand New Eyes and Feeling Sorry. The noise that welcomed the two opening songs would not die down all night and even when the band slowed down the music to perform a couple of acoustic numbers, including a wonderful and sympathetic version of Loretta Lynn’s You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man, the clamour that greeted the band was on par with the Muse concert the year before.
Hayley Williams went through the set with passion in her voice and an attitude to match, at one time, anybody watching her move round the stage would have been reminded of a proud lioness stalking her prey down and not letting go till everybody was up and dancing along with her.
The scene inside the Echo Arena was a wonder to behold as almost every mobile phone was lit up and made it seem as if the whole building was inhabited my thousands of tiny, bright fire flies dancing into time to the mesmeric music being created by the Tennessee band.
This effect that had been created by the audience was only topped by a shower of sparks coming from the back of the stage as the band finished the main part of the set to much applause from a crowd who had given their all in the name of Paramore.
The band finished an electrifying night, which had contained some of the best music all year inside the Echo Arena, with Brick by Boring Brick and one of the groups best known and well received anthems Misery Business.
Ian D. Hall