Paramore - Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester Live Review 2009

Paramore live review

Tennessee outfit Paramore were catapulted to punk-rock superstardom on the back of their sophomore release, 2007's 'Riot!', which in Manchester saw them graduate from a tiny university venue to theatre shows. Now promoting 'Brand New Eyes', their current tour of arena venues is a complete sell out, yet further evidence of the band's meteoric rise.

After a subdued intro track the band burst into 'Ignorance' and make it very clear that the step up to such vast venues is not a problem, sonically at least. Hayley Williams' voice is powerful and it's easy to see why she is adored by the predominantly adolescent audience, as she displays an infectious energy that should come with the endorsement of Duracell batteries. A fair selection of tracks from the latest record are showcased, 'Turn It Off' and 'Careful' being particularly well received, but the cheer that greats material from 'Riot!' is clearly more enthusiastic. 'That's What You Get' and 'Crushcrushcrush' elicit a frenetic response and it is nearly equalled by the reactions to other older favourites 'Emergency' and 'Pressure'. The acoustic moment of 'Misguided Ghosts' provides a break from the dancing but before it's not long after that the show is surprisingly over. 'Misery Business' and 'Brick By Boring Brick' round things off in celebratory fashion barely 60 minutes since the band first hit the stage and you can't help but think the likes of 'Brighter' and 'Woah' would have extended the show without reducing the quality. A longer set for a show of such magnitude, one which Williams declares as their biggest headlining, would have completed Paramore's jump to in status, but they should at least be commended for the £20 admission price which is far below the average for arenas. As the band continue to progress, which they surely will, then on their return to the venue in future a little more stage time will be the key requirement.