The release of third studio album Brand New Eyes had seen the teeny pop rockers reach new chart fame worldwide, knocking queen of pop Madonna off the top of the UK charts and continuing the media frenzy that had previously surrounded the band’s inclusion on the soundtrack for vampire phenomenon Twilight. Opening with ‘Brand New Eyes Tour Intro’- a short compilation of music prepared for this tour alone, the crowd waited in anticipation for the flurry of hits to follow. ‘Ignorance’ sent the youthful audience into an eccentric frenzy, followed in short succession by rarely performed ‘I Caught Myself’ and Riot! Favourite ‘That’s What You Get’. Catching her breath, donned blonde Hayley Williams introduced the band and thanked support acts Now Now Children, Paper Route and Surrey’s own You Me At Six- who all went down a treat.
“I’ve never thought I’d be saying this, but this next track is from our third album you guys made number one!” squealed Williams from the stage, before breaking into ‘Looking Up’, a sentimental yet feisty number- lyrically designed to explain the bands troubles at the beginning of 2008. Troubles (I might add) so far in the distance, you’d be forgiven for forgetting as the current Paramore line-up reeked of smiles and stage presence.
This show had everything, most notably a proposal from one fan to another- met with Hayley Williams tears and ‘The Only Exception’, a love melody which provoked phone lights galore and sentiment from the audience. Check out the proposal below:
An array of hits followed including fame favourite ‘Decode’ and first album track ‘Pressure’, accompanied by acrobats from band founding member Jeremy Davis. Having caught the band only three months before with a crowd of 800 dedicated fans- it seemed impossible for this Christmas concert to beat the intimacy and unique appeal of Islington Academy. But somehow, Wembley topped them all.
Ending the set with the emotion it began, Paramore performed ‘My Heart’, another rarity that went down a storm with the exhausted and exhilarated before awaiting an encore. A T-shirt change for the festival season and ‘Misguided Ghosts’, ‘Misery Business’ and ‘Brick By Boring Brick’ finished the evening on a high, decorating the faithful audience in purple confetti before saying their goodbyes. The crowd wanted more but the night had to end somewhere. And what a bloody way to end it.
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