Well, here it is, my first show of the year, so there are expectations on this one to start the year with a bang, thankfully from all accounts this tour has been a monster and now my hopes are set high…
Twenty One Pilots are up first to get the crowd warmed up with their interesting mix of pop rock / jazz / hip hop and even at one point pulling out a ukulele but it completely suits what this duo is trying to do. Third song in sees vocalist Tyler Joseph take to the crowd for some talented crowd balancing but I have to say, it did take a couple of songs to get into these guys but seeing this third song in they sold me. These two guys truly have some talent, and there it is, with his best Jared Leto Thirty Seconds To Mars scream he’s got me. Some amazing stage presence and some amazing talent won the entire crowd over tonight and I can’t wait to hear what those guys do next.
You Me At Six take the stage and take it by storm, opening with ‘Reckless’’ and if you wanted to hook people well that’s how it’s done. Straight into the riff laden ‘Loverboy’ and I am beyond impressed! These guys are suited for arenas and thankfully tonight are proving that. Two songs in and in all honesty, the way they are playing, these guys could have been headlining tonight. The crowd sure are loving it and as I look down at them and how it’s grown since the opening act proving many are here to see these guys too. I also think that a lot of them missed out on Twenty One Pilots and that’s a shame…’Little Death’ rocked it, as did ‘Liquid Confidence’ and man, me and my love of a big power ballad are having a field day right now, oh ok, this is my new favourite song. Throwing in a new one from their forthcoming album ‘Cavalier Youth’ they showcase ‘Fresh Start Fever’ and if this one is anything to go by then the album will be a monster!! The place is lit up purely by mobile phones right now and it’s amazing as they play ‘Crash’ and my raging love of ballads gets another corker. Simply wow. That’s the winner, I can go home now, good night all. Giving us another from the new album ‘Lived a Lie’ and no surprise, it’s another catchy rocker. This new album is going to be spectacular. ‘Stay With Me’ keeps that arena feel alive and with only two to go one being ‘Bite My Tongue’ even getting a circle pit going at one point and closing out tonight with ‘Underdog’ and as per the rest of this set, nailed it. Congratulations You Me At Six, you just made it onto my ‘never miss when they come to town’ list. That was outstanding.
Paramore were last in Australia for Soundwave 2013 and in closing the show absolutely won every one over, and now tonight in their headline shows and with their newest self-titled album under their belt, they are back to showcase it and I for one can’t wait.
‘Grow Up’ opens the show and the energy is on from the get go. Hayley effortlessly runs around the stage and it’s more than evident that she was born to do this as she does it without losing her breath followed by ‘Fast in My Car’ that sees the stage bathed in red lighting and an intensity to match. ‘That’s What You Get’ third song in was perfect. If they needed a song to make the place explode then this was the one. It’s also one of my favourite Paramore songs so I’m a little biased towards this one, but good to see that everyone agrees with me as the deafening screams cemented its place in the set. ‘Decode’ got some love, heck the way this night is playing out I think Hayley could sing a cook book and the audience would lap it up. Testament to the night of course also goes to the band, this is one tight unit, with Jeremy and Taylor down front with Hayley and three touring musos at the back, this wall of sound is huge and as tight as the lid I couldn’t get off the jar of pickles I was trying to attack the other night. Trust me, that thing was on tight!
“Sydney for those of you that don’t know… we are Paramore…” cue crowd scream and ‘Ignorance’ follows. A cheeky interlude from the self-titled ‘I’m Not Angry Anymore’ sees a rockin ukulele come out before ‘Now’ takes us on and won, although at the time of release it was a little bit of a departure to the traditional Paramore sound, it became a huge song for them and tonight proved why, and in this live environment it showcases the power of the song. Slowing it down a little with the perfect ‘Daydreaming’ and its insane amount of happiness and positivity, followed by my second favourite Paramore song ‘When it Rains’ and I’m a happy camper. This is such a great song and although amazingly not hugely well received but I loved every second of it and was happy it made it into the set tonight. ‘Last Hope’ drops the tempo but turns into a song of almost epic proportions and was a special moment to be a part of that’s for sure. No sooner had that opus finished did we all get to “Ba da ba ba da ba ba da” with ‘Brick By Boring Brick’ and what a time that was!! It’s about now I shake my head and think about just how amazing this show has been so far in terms of sound, talent and songs in general. No wonder so many are here tonight, as Paramore know how it’s done.
Another interlude but the ‘Holiday’ was over very quickly as the place erupted into a giant dance arena for three minutes with ‘Crushcrushcrush’ and the place looked great! But it looked better during next single ‘Ain’t it Fun’ especially when joined by the Hillsong choir. Oh I didn’t expect this one… ‘The Only Exception’ it is and wow, the arena looks great as a sea of phones make their way out to light the place up, it’s songs like this and the next one, the rare track ‘In The Mourning’ that showcase the range of Hayley Williams and as lovely as it was even with a little bit of ‘Landslide’ thrown in for good measure (PS: Nailed It!), as we get to the pointy end of the show, I’m hoping for some up tempo goodness to surface! Oh here we go… ‘Pressure’ oh whoa! Did you see that?! Some brilliant stage antics with an impressive flip there as Jeremy literally rolls over Taylor, *crowd goes wild*. Oh but here’s ‘Misery Business’ and a Riot! has started (pun intended) always been a good song and man it sounded great tonight along with a local girl getting up to sing and doing one hell of a job it just made the song that little bit cooler tonight, nice work Katie. The band leaves the stage but an obvious encore us imminent and oh here it is. What could be left?
Back to the self-titled album, ‘Part II’ it is and a few are happy down in the pit with this one getting a run and rightfully so as it went off! What a huge song to throw in this late. The last of the interludes is up and aptly titled ‘Moving On’ as I have the feeling there’s one left… and I’m right… ‘Still Into You’ it is and hands down this was the catchiest pop rock song of the last year, tonight with balloons, confetti cannons, utter mayhem and a perfectly presented track, it feels like it was the first song of the night, Hayley still sounded amazing after running around for the best part of just over an hour and a half and the band played like it was the last song they ever would.
Well… in closing, a message to all live bands touring Australia in 2014… you’ve got a lot to live up to as this show will be a tough one to beat. Tonight was a simply amazing night of live music entertainment. Thank you Paramore!
Check out our Paramore photo gallery HERE
Check out our You Me At Six photo gallery HERE
Check out our Twenty One Pilots photo gallery HERE
Essential Information
Venue: Allphones Arena – Sydney
Date: Twenty One Pilots, You Me At Six
Website: www.paramore.net
Presented by: Soundwave Touring
Photos by Annette Geneva
Twenty One Pilots set list:
Migraine
House of Gold
Holding on to You
Car Radio
Guns for Hands
You Me At Six set list:
Reckless
Loverboy
Little Death
Fresh Start Fever
Liquid Confidence
Crash
Lived a Lie
Stay With Me
Bite My Tongue
Underdog
Paramore set list:
Grow Up
Fast in My Car
That’s What You Get
Decode
Ignorance
Interlude: I’m Not Angry Anymore
Now
Daydreaming
When It Rains
Last Hope
Brick by Boring Brick
Interlude: Holiday
Crushcrushcrush
Ain’t It Fun
The Only Exception
In the Mourning [& Landslide – Fleetwood Mac]
Pressure
Misery Business
Encore:
Part II
Interlude: Moving On
Still Into You
