When you walk into Concrete Street Amphitheatre during the day, especially a day in the middle of summer in South Texas, you’re making a statement that you truly love who’s going to be on the stage. This was the case for fans of Paramore; including myself. A line wrapped all the way around N Tancahua St in downtown Corpus Christi on July 11th. Passersby’s gazed in wonder of who was capable of drawing in so many young souls dressed in vibrant colored clothing and faces covered in glitter; it was Paramore.
Jay Som
Setlist:
Turn Into
One More Time, Please
Ghost
Take It
The Bus Song
Baybee
Opening for Paramore was Indie Pop band, Jay Som. Having never heard of this band, it was hard for me to be excited. However, I was pleasantly surprised when they took the stage promptly at 7:30 PM. I must say this effortlessly good performance has turned me into a fan. Jay Som gave the audience a cause for excitement through their indie pop musical tunes. Singer Melina Duterte holds a unique voice that the audience admired, causing them to sway around during their set. The band continued moving through song after song. Jay Som overall put on a great set, and definitely sparked my interest in their music. After only a forty five minute set, I was ultimately left wanting to hear more from them.
Rating: 4/5
Foster the People
Setlist:
Waste
Helena Beat
Don’t Stop
Coming Of Age
Pumped Up Kids
Pay The Man
Sit Next To Me
Lotus Eater
Loyal Like Sid & Nancy
I Love My Friends
Beginners Guide To Destroying the Moon
Foster the People took the stage next, performing for a little over an half hour. At this point, most of the crowd had arrived. Foster the People opened with ‘Waste’ from their first album ‘Torches’ which had the crowd screaming every word with the band. High, positive energy was radiating from the performers; you could tell that they loved what they were doing. Some audience members knew the band and filled with energy as they saw the band take stage. The pit began to grow quickly & squish together, knowing that Paramore were due to be on stage soon. Not to mention, the lead vocalist, Mark Foster voice sounds exactly the same as it did on the first FTP album. Maybe even better. Halfway through their set they did a cover of ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ by the Ramones. This gave audience members who were not familiar with Foster the People, the opportunity to sing something. Surprisingly, they did a great job. During their final song, ‘Beginners guide to destroying the moon’ audience members sang with their last ounce of energy. Foster the People left the stage with a statement telling the audience to take a minute to meditate to the sounds of a soft melody. During this time, they instructed us to think of someone who had made an impact in our lives. By this time in the night everyone was getting really hyped to see Paramore and both bands did a great job of preparing the crowd for the performance.
Rating: 5/5
Paramore
Setlist:
Grudges
Still Into You
Rose-Colored Boy
That’s What You Get
Crushcrushcrush
Fake Happy
Playing God
Forgiveness
Ignorance
Pool
Caught In The Middle
Idle Worship
No Friend
Misery Business
Ain’t it Fun
Acoustic
Passionfruit (Drake Cover)
Misguided Ghosts
26
Encore
Told You So
All That Love Is (HalfNoise Cover)
Hard Times
Leading up to their entrance, Paramore displayed various horizontal projectors and large mirrors that gave the audience the ability to see how large the crowd was behind them. These projectors included videos of the band members in front of a color scheme that matched their ‘After Laughter’ album. The audience was on their toes waiting for Paramore to come out, you could feel the tension between every single person in the crowd. After what seemed like the longest forty minutes of my life, Paramore rushed out onto the stage. As soon as Hayley Williams graced the stage, the crowd immediately erupted with the perfect mix of excitement and enthusiasm. The venue was absolutely filled with people to its full capacity by the time Paramore took stage. Paramore ran out, and the nostalgia consumed me. Paramore started with the popular single ‘Grudges’ off of their latest album, ‘After Laughter’. The crowd began to grow wild and screamed the lyrics in unison. The crowd’s spirit rose as audience members jumped and danced along. I can honestly say that out of all of the concerts I have been to, Paramore are in the top 3 that I have ever seen. Now, I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to Paramore’s newest stuff in a while, so I was worried I wouldn’t know most of their set. I was wrong. They played some new tunes, but surprised the audience with songs from their earlier albums, ‘Riot’ and ‘Ignorance’.. Not only did they have great crowd interaction, but they had a moment in the show where Hayley chose three fans to come on stage and join her in singing one of the bands biggest hits ‘Misery Business’. In between songs, lead vocalist, Hayley Williams gave a brief statement regarding the bands absence in the ‘Monumentour’ tour back in 2014 with Fall Out Boy. You could hear a pin drop as she talked. Paramore could not have picked better bands to help them along on this tour. I am sure this tour meant a lot to old Paramore fans, because I was almost in tears when I heard them performing songs from their very first album; I’m thankful to have had the chance to relive my high school years for a night. There was not a time during Paramore’s set that the energy in the crowd wasn’t high. By the time they played their last song of the night, I couldn’t comprehend the fact that the show was over. Throughout the 21 song set, including the encore, Paramore never disappointed with their stage presence and enthusiasm.
Overall, the atmosphere throughout the whole show mixed with the energy and interaction of the performing bands and the crowd made for an amazing experience that cannot be easily matched. To say this was a good show is a complete understatement. The whole crowd managed to have a great time with a bunch of people they had never met before. If the ‘After Laughter’ is coming to your hometown, I recommend you get yourself out there & experience it for yourself.
Rating 10/5
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