Gig Diaries: Still Into You- 16 years later

This month I had the pleasure of seeing Paramore live for the first time in my life. A gift I am extremely pleased I was able to give my 14-year-old self.

My best friend asked me forever ago if I would be up for going with her and her sister to see them in Cardiff. My answer was HELL YEAH! I will admit I did hesitate for half a second at the price, I am still in denial that any gig ticket should cost more than £30. I made my peace with the price tag and got excited.

The venue was Cardiff International Arena, somewhere I have not been before. With the word Arena in the name, I was preparing myself for an arena experience. Accepting the possibility of being miles away from the stage and catching the odd glimpse of Hayley Williams' fiery red hair.

As we made our way to the back of the queue passing groups of people who had already been there for hours. I couldn't help but notice that we were all conforming to an unspoken dress code. The queue was full of in the mainly young woman all dressed in different variations of dark floral or band T shirts more often than not paired with Doc Martens. I had never felt more like I was surrounded by my people than in this queue.

Once inside I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the room, it was not the arena I was expecting it was a lot smaller than the likes of the MEN and I was extremely pleased. We were in for a far more intimate experience than I had anticipated. I did not have the pleasure of watching the first support act as we had opted for another round of drinks in the glorious Welsh sunshine. I did however get to see Bloc Party. A staple of the UK indie scene in early 2000’s I knew for certain I remembered at least one song, turns out I knew two. My main take away was Bloc Party are awesome, how did I not know this? A personal stand out was their drummer. Almost all of the tracks they played were at an extremely high tempo and she was an absolute joy to watch.

I was aware throughout the set that this was only the second night of the European leg of the tour and there was a certain nervous energy in the air that I hope in later shows has morphed into excitement. The set was high energy and lots of fun and it left me wanting to give Bloc Party another listen because I have definitely missed out on some great music the first go around.

There was a lengthy break between support and headline. During which, I remember commenting that the background music that was on in between was particularly solemn. Ten minutes before Paramore were due to start, I felt the energy in the room was crying out for a nostalgic Emo classic or a bit of Taylor Swift to pick the crowd back up after a 30-minute lull.

Overall, the gig was absolutely amazing, and I couldn't be happier that I have finally seen Paramore after loving them so intensely when I was a teenager. They opened their set with You First from This is Why, going straight into The News and following up with Playing God from Brand New Eyes. Hayley Williams is an incredible vocalist and amazing to witness even whilst she was having trouble hearing herself in her monitors, you wouldn't have known there was anything amiss if she hadn't mentioned it during her cover of Big Thief’s What can you say.

One of the highlights for me was getting to hear All I wanted in all of its glory. This tour is the first time the track has been included in their set list and it was an incredible moment to have experienced such clean effortless sounding vocals during such a technically challenging song.

A few years back I had seen rumours that Paramore were no longer playing arguably their biggest hit Misery Business anymore. Primarily because of the lyric Once a whore, you’re nothing more / I’m sorry, that will never change’. Williams had this to say...

"I haven't related to it in a very long time," she said. "Those word were written when I was 17… admittedly, from a very narrow-minded perspective. It wasn’t really meant to be this big philosophical statement about anything. It was quite literally a page in my diary about a singular moment I experienced as a high schooler.

"…and that’s the funny part about growing up in a band with any degree of success. People still have my diary. The past and the present. All the good and bad and embarrassing of it!

For those who grew up screaming this song at every opportunity like me the prospect of not hearing at the gig was disappointing, but I also completely understood it. Slut shaming does no one any good and I would respect Paramore not wishing to play it if they don't enjoy it. However, the song was included, and it was at this point I realised, this being my first show, I was uninitiated. At this point in the show the band take the opportunity to pull someone from the crowd to sing the second half of the song with the band. Those in the know had made a special effort with their outfits and prepared witty signs in the hope being chosen. It was an extremely chaotic but also very wholesome experience to watch 2 super fans have the time of their lives on stage with all of us.

It is a highly intelligent way for the band, having distanced themselves from the messaging of the song to give the fans the satisfaction of enjoying it live. Williams' literally hands the fans the mic and without saying so tell us 'it's yours now'. I was incredibly impressed by this choice.

My only criticism of the gig was how the show as a whole was crafted, specifically the set list. It felt like the set was uneven. There were a few back-to-back upbeat tracks early on which, whilst being a joy to dance to, could have been better dispersed throughout the set as a lot of the emotional heft was stacked towards the end of the performance. Creating a bit of a lull before the carnage of Misery Business unfolded which was followed by an encore that wasn't quite an encore.

Credit where it is due, they successfully avoided the awkward 'cheer for an encore we all know we are going to do' exchange by playing some behind the scenes footage on the big screens while taking a short break. It feels strange to complain about the set list especially when talking about a band as experienced as Paramore, but I thinks it is testament to the quality of the gigs I have been lucky enough to witness.

The band that came to mind first was Enter Shikari when I went to see them in December 2021. Before their set they played Motown classics interrupted every few tracks with a prepare for lift off style countdown which had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Whilst, in between tracks at Paramore it would cut to black followed by a short silence. The burden of crowd work fell to Hayley Williams alone no matter how much she energy she had given to the previous song.

I think if her band mates were to share some of the responsibility for crowd work it would allow the set to flow a little more seamlessly and the threat of losing the crowd would disappear. As it was only the second night of the tour it may be that they have settled in a bit more. Given that they haven't toured in the UK in 5 years I hope my criticisms cannot be echoed by those who saw them in Glasgow and beyond.

Having said all that, the gig was still so much fun! The experience made 14-year-old me incredibly happy and I have had Paramore on repeat ever since. Confirming what I had long suspected, it was not just a phase.