Paramore / Charli XCX / Eliza & the Bear

I am a firm favourite of small venues. I love the intimacy, the connection to the music and the atmosphere that sitting in a tiny room, watching an incredible performance, can have. However, exceptions must be made and in this instance that exception was Paramore.

As I tootled across the the LG Arena I noticed how many bright haired audience members there were. Blues, purples, greens and most importantly, bright red. Oh yes, Hayley Williams, lead vocalist for Paramore has definitely had some influence here.

Eliza & the Bear took to the Birmingham stage first. Having been asked by Williams to join them personally, the indie folk band absolutely stormed it. Support acts are like Marmite – what a cliché. You'll either love them or hate them. Luckily, the first support on seemed to be loved. Their music makes you want to close your eyes and sway your body around, flaying arms and legs everywhere. They are really good at creating really great music to just listen to and enjoy. The guys on stage are wonderfully upbeat and a surprising pleasure to listen too. Great choice by Williams. Bravo.

Charli XCX would be on stage just before Paramore. I wasn't familiar with her until she revealed she was on the Icona Pop record 'I Don't Care' and the rest of the audience quickly picked up on this with the audience instantly becoming more responsive to the clap hand encouragements and cheering. I wasn't as keen on Charli XCX as the previous support act which was a shame as Eliza & the Bear had started the evening on such an impressive high. In all honesty – the set dragged, apart from the one or two jems of the performance. I was uninterested and found myself watching the crowd more than the performance.

Having songs like 'Misery Business' in my life for longer than I remember and with male friends literally obsessed with Miss Williams, I physically could not wait to see them live. A few weeks back, I watched a few live performances that they had done and I couldn't believe the voice that Williams has and to be able to finally hear that in person was extremely exciting.

So plainly, Paramore were sensational. I am so impressed by not only the quality and talent of the musicians but how diverse Paramore as a band can be. Huge songs like 'Decode', 'Aint It Fun', 'CrushCrushCrush', and 'Ignorance' took things to one level but the band included ukulele led interludes which saw a single light down on Williams and one or two other band members where they sang little ditties in between songs which broke up the evening incredibly well. They sang a version of Fleetwood Mac's 'Landslide' which to the younger audience members completely flew over their heads, but to the older generation, they seemed shocked and delighted with the choice of cover by the band.

They performed a song called 'Last Hope' which Williams spoke about writing and recording and dancing around with her band all through the night, laughing at how unlike them it sounded.. "...Gotta let it happen...It's just a spark, but its enough to keep me going..." - if you can fall in love with a single song this was it. What is so fantastic about this song is it truly shows the diversity that Paramore have and they don't and shouldn't be classed as just a rock band because they aren't. It doesn't need to be all about the smashing drumming, the huge guitar riffs and bass-lines.

The set was basic but it didn't need to have fancy logos, slide shows and images. Paramore create stunning and powerful music which doesn't need to be fluffed by all that extra rubbish. The lights got bigger and brighter when the songs hit the climax, or a huge song was performed, and the lights dimmed and soften to bring out the gentle parts of the show. Simple. Williams ran around the stage and was exhausted by the end of the gig but not once did she let it bring down her performance. Each song, fast or slow, she gave everything she had and you could see that she did not falter, once. As a group of musicians, Paramore have a wonderful connection and it really is a joy to watch them. The gratitude that the band had for their fans was outstanding. Williams kept commenting about her appreciation and love for the UK fans which showed this wonderfully soft and humble side to her which, having seen a lot of artist, was so genuine and sincere.

It felt like everybody was waiting for that moment when 'Misery Business' would start and my god, I've never seen anything like it. Williams stated that she wanted somebody to sing on stage with her and picked 'Laura' out of the audience. I'd expect the person to be shy and nervous but my god, this girl destroyed it. She grabbed the microphone, pounced on Williams, jumped on the speaker, sang her heart out and started to head bang with Williams. It was an amazing moment.

Every gig I attend I think, "That was the best gig I have ever seen" and I said exactly the same this time but the difference is, I honestly rate it above anything I have seen before because I left shocked. I was shocked at Williams voice, the honesty in what she spoke about but also the vulnerability and honesty that came across in 'The Only Exception'. There was a lovely moment where the crowd just held up their phones/lights and just listened to Williams and it felt like she was spilling her heart out to a room of thousands of people and even though I was at the LG Arena, it felt for those few minutes as though I was back in that intimate, tiny venue that I so dearly love.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.