Gig

Paramore - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 25th November @ The Domain, Sydney NSW

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Nov 26, 2023

7 min read

Paramore
The Domain Sydney NSW
November 25, 2023

Before I begin this review, I will say that Paramore being in Australia is definitely long awaited since their last show was all the way back in 2018 for the After Laughter cycle and there is a stark difference between the shows.

In 2018, in Sydney, the band sold out Qudos Bank Arena which holds 21,000 people. In the same city in 2023, Paramore sold out The Domain which held the biggest headlining crowd of their entire career (so far) with an astounding 25,000 people showing up; some of whom had camped out to get their spot on barrier from as early as 10pm the night before!

[UPDATE: Venue capacity is up to 50,000, but this show sold out with 25,000 Parafans attending the band’s biggest show period. Still historical]

At the start their set, a spoken word piece by Hayley Williams was played, titled Grey Area (Note to Self) which was a softer tone for them as they usually start off with full energy right out of the gate the second the lights are dimmed. That being said, once the spoken word piece had finished, the energy was high with the band playing ‘You First‘ as their opening track and that energy did not stop as they followed on with ‘The News‘ and ‘That’s What You Get‘.

It was after these three songs that Hayley was speaking to the crowd and playfully interacting with members of the audience, who she had seen over the last few nights at other shows, and noticing that someone even brought along a cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen from Twilight, making everyone laugh as she called him “our love!” and said that they missed him and she was glad to see him again. It was also during this time during Hayley’s talking that I noticed a chant had started up the back in the middle area, but it seemed to die down quite quickly, so I had assumed that it was resolved (more on that again soon).

Paramore then recommenced and moved on to ‘Playing God‘ which I will admit, is somewhat of a rarity these days. It is one of those songs that they just don’t add into their sets much these days which is a shame since it honestly is such a good song. Next we had a chance to dance our hearts out to ‘Caught in the Middle‘ and let’s be real here, Hayley is a dorky dancer and she knows it, which is why when she speaks before the song and tells everyone that there is no such thing as bad dancing at a Paramore show, it makes everyone feel that little bit more at ease. ‘Rose Coloured Boy‘ came with a special moment towards the end where the band worked their magic and turned the same riff of their song into Whitney Houston‘s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ before finishing back on ‘Rose Coloured Boy‘.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0HycPQuAKv/

After this, Hayley again took a moment to thank everyone for coming out and having made this their biggest show that they have ever played and also revealed that they had been given a plaque earlier that day to say that their most recent record This is Why had gone Number One in Australia upon release and thanked everyone for caring about their new songs just as much as their old ones and singing them just as loud.

During this time, the chant that had started earlier came back but was louder this time, and I realised that it wasn’t people chanting for help, they were chanting for the sound to be turned up. However everyone at the very front had also started a chant for Hayley to do a shoey, (which thank god, she didn’t do) and she said she couldn’t hear what anyone was saying, which meant that she ended up hearing the chant for a shoey over everyone asking for the sound to be turned up. This may have been due to the fact that they may have underestimated how many people would be there and didn’t realise that the sound wasn’t as loud or travelling as far back as they’d intended it to.

‘Running Out Of Time‘ was up next and it was honestly such a highlight to see this played live, as I have always loved that song on the new album, and it not only sounded just as clean as the recording, but it is just as much fun to let loose and dance to with thousands of people around as it is to dance to when there is no one else around. After we sang and danced about ADHD and it’s downfalls, we sang along to ‘Decode‘ with a special appearance once more from cardboard Edward Cullen in the crowd who got quite a big cheer. Now if I’m brutally honest, which some people may hate this unpopular opinion — as much as I love this song being played live and how Hayley’s vocals sound when it is played, I would be more than happy if they finally retired it or at least just for a short while. I have heard it more than enough times for the last 15 years since Twilight was released, so I’d rather they swap it out for something else, but it seems to be a clear favourite as everyone always goes hard for it.

Next we got to hear ‘Last Hope‘ and no matter what, this one is always special for many fans as the lyrics are just so beautiful, as well as serving as a reminder that you should never give up. I think this one is probably one of my favourite songs that they have kept on their regular set for some time now. The pace then picked back up and the crowd’s pinky fingers were raised high in the air as ‘Big Man, Little Dignity‘ was performed. This is another track that I have loved since I first heard it on This Is Why, and having the chance to see it live felt as though it amplified the way that I had already perceived it as a listener when it was first released.

The three main members of Paramore, being Zac Farro, Taylor York and Hayley Williams were now lifted up into the middle of the stage on a rising platform, to perform ‘Liar‘ and a song from Hayley’s solo record Petals for Armour – ‘Crystal Clear‘. It was probably at this point that I noticed the sound needed to be louder. Where I was standing, you couldn’t see the centre of the stage that had the risen platform all too well and because of this, some people just started talking amongst themselves which was a bit rude and annoying, but from my vantage point, this was the only time I felt as though I noticed it was a little quiet which detracted from my experience. But that didn’t last long as ‘Hard Times‘ brought us back to reality and is always one of the most fun songs to see and hear live because you know that every person is dancing like there is no tomorrow and having the time of their life. The last time I saw ‘Hard Times‘ played live, their outro of the track was ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody‘ so it was an even more fun experience when they switched it up to Blondie‘s ‘Heart of Glass‘ before ending it on that iconic lyric “and I gotta hit rock bottom!”

"https://www.instagram.com/p/C0FuSxOL2zT/?img_index=1

Now their next song that Hayley introduced had me waiting at the ready, like a dog that’s ready to run in a field after a tennis ball. She said that it was a love song and for the longest time, they never played it and then they started to play it again, and I thought “Okay here we go, Sydney’s in for a treat.. They’re going to play ‘All I Wanted’ because this is already such a special show for them” but I was let down the next moment when she announced ‘The Only Exception‘. Don’t get me wrong, I adore this song and I will always love it (and seeing all those cute couples cuddling up and singing to each other), but Hayley’s speech really had me fooled for a hot minute.

‘Crave‘ was probably my stand-out song of the night because I’m not generally one to ever cry at concerts, but there is one verse in the song that gets me every time, and it hit even harder because I was hearing it live. Honestly, if there was a moment I was going to cry (outside of if ‘All I Wanted‘ was played) it was then. The song itself encompasses so beautifully the longing to keep chasing those highs and those memories and to see it live, it hit me because it describes how I have always felt at a Paramore concert within it’s own lyrics. “A picture cannot contain the way it feels; now I crave to do it all again”

After this emotional journey we’d been on, Zac stepped away from the drums for the next four minutes to sing one of his beautiful upbeat tracks from his side-project Halfnoise. I didn’t really know the song ‘Baby‘ all too well, but you could hear everyone who did. Their voices were loud and proud and everyone was dancing along, including me. Hayley then talked to the crowd once more, asking whether this was anyone’s first Paramore show, had she made them a fan yet, and if not, she was about to since “we were all gagged by this in 2007” and telling everyone “your jeans are about to shrink three sizes” and then flawlessly flowing from her quick wit into the beginning of ‘Misery Business‘. It honestly sounded like an arena tour with the response of screams and cheers that the beginning notes of this track were met with. The tradition continued with a flucky fan getting the chance to sing the song with the band in front of everyone.

‘Ain’t It Fun‘ kept the attendee’s energy at a high, with everyone dancing with friends and yelling the words at the top of their lungs as we headed towards the closing few songs and we all knew that we were quite literally, running out of time. ‘Thick Skull‘ was the final song before the encore and I know that ‘Figure 8‘ was sacrificed and taken out of the setlist to have this be put back on and it leaves me conflicted. I prefer ‘Figure 8‘, however, after hearing ‘Thick Skull‘ in a live setting, I think that is the way it was meant to be heard. The studio version was always just… there, in my eyes. It wasn’t a hit, but it wasn’t a miss. But hearing it live? Definitely a hit. It’s one of those ones that translates far better in a performance setting.

The final two songs before the night was completely over were ‘Still Into You‘ and ‘This is Why‘ which I think were the perfect choices as they are such fun, upbeat, rhythmic songs that everyone knows the words to and can dance to them and lose their minds one last time to get out any remaining dorky dancing or energy that was built up, which I definitely did.

At the beginning of the night, Hayley said “for the next two hours, nothing else matters, the world is shit and life is hard, but forget all of that tonight.” and as I squelched my way through muddy puddles from the rain earlier in the day towards the exit with everyone else, I still felt like nothing in the world mattered except this and I did crave to do it all again. Other fans and groups of friends sang Paramore songs as they walked back to the car park or continued to dance on their way to the bar to get a drink, people complimenting strangers or talking to people they may not have before. Parafamily. It’s what it truly is. It’s what has given me so many opportunities to make friends halfway across the world and talk to people I may only meet once. I saw it again last night and it’s what I’ve been missing since 2018.

My final thoughts on everything is that I truly believe this was one of the best shows I have ever seen them play. I always remove Parahoy cruises from that equation because those were something special and I know that not everyone was able to experience that, however in terms of headlining shows — this was by far the best and it was made that much more special being such a historical moment for the band themselves. I believe they treated us to quite an incredible setlist, giving fans a perfect blend of old, new and even some snippets of covers that they love to play for fun. Touring members Joey Howard, Logan Mackenzie, Joey Mullen and Brian Robert Jones all need to be commended for maximising the band’s live sound and their showmanship throughout the entire set.

My only disappointment is that ‘All I Wanted‘ didn’t get added to the setlist as it would have been such a perfect moment for them to play it. However, I also keep in mind that it was only a few months ago that Hayley had a lung infection and that may have been a factor in whether she decided to perform it or not – since she was quite unwell for a little while.

This really was one of the best nights for me, and I was so captivated by the infectious joy and playful wit that Hayley and everyone in Paramore brought to the stage. There were moments I got lost in the moment, not only forgetting the world around me, but forgetting to take note of details to write about it later.

Gig Review by Heather McNab @heathermcnab

Paramore Setlist

You First
The News
That’s What You Get
Playing God
Caught in the Middle
Rose-Colored Boy (with ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’)
Running Out of Time
Decode
Last Hope
Big Man, Little Dignity
Liar
Crystal Clear (Hayley Williams solo song)
Hard Times (with Blondie’s ‘Heart of Glass)
The Only Exception
Crave
Baby (HalfNoise cover)
Misery Business
Ain’t It Fun
Thick Skull

Encore

Still Into You
This Is Why

Photo Gallery provided by Zachary Gray @zacharygray

[gallery type="square" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-1.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-2.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-3.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-4.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-5.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-6.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-7.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-8.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-9.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-10.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-11.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-12.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-13.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-14.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paramore-Sydney-Nov-25-Zachary-Gray-15.jpg|"]