Paramore: Live at Air Canada Centre

Went to see Paramore last night at the Air Canada Centre. It was my fifth time seeing them overall, second time seeing them this year, and first time seeing them play at an arena. (I took way too many photos, so there's more for your viewing pleasure after the jump.)

What surprised me about this concert was the attendees, actually. I guess I'm used to a lot of Paramore shows having mostly young teenage girls. Don't get me wrong, there were still plenty of young kids (some with parents) there, but the majority of the people at the show were well into their 20s, clearly people that have followed them for years (after all, I was only 19 when I started listening to Paramore and I'm still going to their concerts now at 27). Not only that, but the male-female ratio was pretty equal. So it's only fitting that their setlist was full of new favourites and old classics, which aimed to please both new and old fans alike.
Setlist:

1. Grow Up 2. Fast in My Car 3. That's What You Get 4. Decode 5. Ignorance 6. Interlude: I'm Not Angry Anymore 7. Now 8. Daydreaming 9. When It Rains 10. Last Hope 11. Brick by Boring Brick 12. Interlude: Holiday 13. Crushcrushcrush 14. Ain't It Fun 15. The Only Exception 16. In the Mourning 17. Pressure 18. Misery Business

Encore:

19. Part II 20. Interlude: Moving On 21. Still Into You

I have mixed feelings about this show. On the one hand, Paramore has amazing stage presence and always puts on a really fun, interactive show. It seems that Hayley Williams has boundless energy, and it's infectious. I like that she takes the time to talk to the audience and to encourage audience participation — in fact, she hand-picked a fan to go up on stage from the floor to sing the bridge of "Misery Business" (the girl she picked actually did a fantastic job, too; she sang really well and even knew all of Hayley's "stage moves"). This particular show was also full of different lighting schemes and theatrics, which made it more memorable and visually pleasing. On the other hand, Paramore is not a band that is best enjoyed at arenas. Hayley Williams herself brought this up during the concert, when she pointed out that people should be up and dancing, not sitting down, because that's not how one should enjoy a Paramore show. But they have reached a point in their eight-year career where they've become too popular for the biggest of club venues, so they have to sacrifice that bit of punk-rock integrity. 

As someone who has followed them from the beginning of their career, I'm proud of them for making it this big, this successful, through sheer talent, hard work, and perseverance. Their career has been "a bit of a soap opera," as Hayley admits, and yet, they're as popular as ever. At the same time, though, I do miss the old days when they played at tiny hole-in-the-wall venues where the only option was standing and the stage was the size of my bathroom, sold their records outside of suitcases, and opened for bands that no longer exist today. There's something about that intimacy that I miss. On that note, though, as they continue to hone their craft and play around with different genres of music, I do truly think they get better with age. And I can't wait to see them again.