| PARAMORE + RELIENT K + THE JURY AND THE SAINTS! |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Wednesday, 13 October 2010 09:32 |
 What do you get when you mix one band from New Zealand with two bands from Nashville, Tennessee? Only one of the best concerts of 2010! PARAMORE, RELIENT K and local band THE JURY AND THE SAINTS - watch a live video of TJATS covering Taio Cruz's 'Dynamite' with a little help from Iron Man a.k.a. Hayley Williams HERE - rocked Vector Arena in Auckland for their second and final NZ show of the bands Australasian tour, and while the arena may not have been at full capacity, the support and love shown for every band definitely was felt. When Paramore announced they were bringing Relient K along for the ride on their second headlining NZ tour of 2010, we couldn’t have been any happier. It’s been a long, long time since the boys from Nashville had graced NZ with their presence, and opening with their hit single ‘Be My Escape’ the arena immediately responded to the bands energy with loud sing-a-longs and lots of jumping. Going straight into ‘Forget And Not Slow Down’ from their 2009 album of the same name, the majority of the bands ten song set featured on that album, disappointing older fans of the band (a.k.a. me) who really wanted to hear their older songs such as ‘Mood Rings’ and ‘I Need You'.  But even for fans like me who hadn’t paid any attention to their latest album until about three days before the show, Relient K showed off their many years of experience with a polished performance. The three part harmonies from vocalist Matt Thiessen and the two guitarists on tracks like ‘High Of 75’ and their cover of Toto’s ‘Africa’ were notably impressive, and Thiessen's dedication of ‘The One I’m Waiting For’ to Katy Perry brought some humour to the set. Rounding off their set with ‘Therapy’, ‘Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been’ and ‘Devastation And Reform’, the band did a great job at amping the crowd up for the one band everyone was there for: Paramore.  After teasing New Zealand fans with a 55 minute set earlier this year in March, there was a warm welcome for the bands return only seven months later. With the promise of an "all new show" as well as the inclusion of newly wed guitarist/back-up vocalist Josh Farro, the expectation for the set was at an all time high - and the expectation was met. Straight off the bat, Paramore came out with guitars and light bulbs swinging. Opening with ‘Ignorance’, the band added an extra-long minute to the intro of the track, which they played behind a giant black curtain. When the intro was over, the curtain dropped to reveal an array of swinging light bulbs which hung from the Vector ceiling, as well as an impressive stage set-up including five video screens. Second song ‘Feeling Sorry’ utilized the video screens with real-time footage of the band playing the song, courtesy of mini cameras which had been placed across the stage. It was little features such as this which added an extra dimension to their set, creating an all-round show experience - as opposed to just a band playing on an empty stage.  However, it wasn’t just the impressive stage production that made this concert a better performance than earlier this year. It wasn’t their set list which was almost double in length, and it wasn’t the inclusion of Josh Farro. Instead of coming straight off a blistering string of headlining shows at Soundwave Festival in Australia, this time around NZ got the band first, which resulted in a fresher and more energetic performance all round - from both the band and the fans. ‘That’s What You Get’ had the entirety of the GA section (and some of the seated audience) jumping in unison with pocket rocket Hayley Williams who kept herself in the perfect balance of power and vocal-accuracy, all whilst running from side to side of the stage. ‘For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic’ and ‘Emergency’ both received extreme amounts of praise from the audience, as did their 'Twilight' theme-tune ‘Decode’ - which was accompanied by videos of the band filmed in a forest much like their music video.  A quick change in stage set-up saw a couch take place centre stage, allowing the band to slow down the pace with a few acoustic songs. Hayley and Josh began by trying to convince NZ kids of the positives of country music with a power cover of ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)’, before the entire band played ‘When It Rains’, ‘Where The Lines Overlap’ and ‘Misguided Ghosts’. While the softer pace did little for the boys attempting to start up circle pits in almost every song, it showcased the strength of Hayley Williams’ voice in a way we hadn’t experienced in NZ before. It’s very hard to hide pitch issues when the amps are turned down and all you have to hide behind is acoustic guitars, but Williams did not disappoint. ‘Crushcrushcrush’ saw the floor of Vector turn into an epic dance party - even if the majority of glow sticks ended up on the floor of the stage due to many a fan deciding the band would much prefer the glow sticks being thrown at them. I'm not sure who decided that would be a smart idea for the night, but nonetheless the band showed their professionalism by making a joke out of it and soldiering on with their performance. ‘The Only Exception’ saw the remaining glow sticks, as well as cellphones and lighters creating a beautiful night sky-esque glow all around the arena which added to the romance of the song - the perfect end to the main portion of their set.  Coming back for their encore of ‘Brick By Boring Brick’ and ‘Misery Business’, Hayley pulled two girls [Coup De Main readers Katie and Sammy!] up on stage to sing and dance their hearts out to the end of 'Misery Business'. Hayley & Co. had made no attempts at hiding their love and appreciation for New Zealand, and to give two fans the chance to live out a dream was the perfect way to end the concert. Promising that they would return to our shores again in the future, if the bands performance and stage production improves at the rate it did in the past seven months, I for one will be extremely excited to see what they come up with next.  Paramore Auckland 08/10/10 set list: Ignorance Feeling Sorry That’s What You Get For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic Emergency Playing God Careful Decode You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man) [Loretta Lynn cover] When It Rains Where The Lines Overlap Misguided Ghosts Crushcrushcrush Pressure Looking Up The Only Exception Brick By Boring Brick Misery Business  |
