GalleryDitch This MagazineNovember 28, 2023gallery, live, melbourne, Rebecca Houlden, Paramore, rod laver arena

Paramore @ Rod Laver Arena 27-11-23

GalleryDitch This MagazineNovember 28, 2023gallery, live, melbourne, Rebecca Houlden, Paramore, rod laver arena

Words: Rebecca Houlden @rebecca_houlden
Images thanks to: Zachary Gray

Tennessee's favourite pop-punk alt-rock band Paramore returned to Australia this week for the first time since 2018 to close out their This Is Why tour for 2023 with three nights at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena - the only city on their east coast only Australian tour to be graced with this many shows.

Formed in 2004, vocalist Hayley Williams tells the crowd how great it is that she's been playing music with her best friends since her teens (core band members Zac Farro on drums and Taylor York on guitar - who is also her partner), and it's the greatest relationship she's ever had. With nearly twenty years of experience performing live together, this is why (no pun intended) Paramore are regarded so highly for their incredible live shows.

Opening the show was Californian singer-songwriter Remi Wolf, who also appears on a reworked version of You First on Paramore's most recent release Re: This Is Why - a remix album. The stage is decorated with Christmas-themed inflatables, although there is an odd one out with an inflatable cow. Remi put on a great performance of soul/funk/pop tracks and she took the time to get the crowd warmed up, quite literally, by asking everyone to join her for some stretches.

"Take a deep breath and let all your bullshit go. Be present and give yourself permission to have the best night of your f*cking life!"

Paramore enter the stage after a short video intro and launch straight into You First, a personal favourite track from This Is Why. With their touring band the stage is filled with a total of seven performers, and there's multiple moments throughout the night where you can see they all truly love playing together and have a great bond.

Paramore quickly show the audience just how extensive their back catalogue is now, with the next six songs all previous single releases including That's What You Get (the first older song to be played for the night), Caught In The Middle (where Williams invites everyone to join her in some bad dance moves), Rose-Colored Boy, and their 2008 hit Decode made famous by the Twilight soundtrack (one of the most popular amongst fans for the night).

As the night progresses, the stage design slowly morphs during the songs with a few large pieces coming down from the roof to sit low above the band, changing shape and colour - combined with an angular screen behind them with some fantastic visuals, it's fascinating to watch and really brings something extra to the show.

The band then slowed it down for Last Hope (a deep cut from their 2013 Self-Titled album) and Big Man Little Dignity (Williams tells the crowd "It's about large men with tiny penises" and invites the crowd to hold up their pinky fingers). Then part of the stage is raised at the back, and Williams, Farro and York perform Crystal Clear from Williams' 2020 solo album Petals For Amour, set to a backdrop with beautiful golden lighting and blue sky.

The band clearly know how to put on a great live show, and they quickly get the crowd pumped up again with their pop-rock hit Hard Times complete with 80s graphics on the screen behind them. There's a bit of a mishap though when their pyro goes off at the wrong moment and Williams extends the outro of the song to sing "Somebody's getting fired / Beyonce did it so we can too / and I can't wait to speak with you, it's the third time this has happened to us."

It's been a fantastic live show from the start, almost two hours, but it's the last four songs for the night that really show how much Paramore have evolved together as a band and with their fans over the years. Williams asks the crowd to put their hand up if it's their first Paramore show, and surprisingly it appears to be over 50% of the crowd.

The highlight for the night though is Misery Business from 2007's Riot when Williams chooses two teenage fans from the crowd to come up and sing with her. They scream and cry in disbelief when brought up on stage, then belt out the remainder of the song with the band - a truly heart-warming moment for everyone.

Ain't In Fun, Still Into You and This Is Why close out the show, with a confetti cannon going off behind the crowd (the confetti read THIS IS WHY) ends what has been an incredible two hours of live music. And perhaps the most impressive of the performance - two hours of non-stop signature Hayley Williams dance moves of arms and legs flailing without ever missing a note.