Paramore's at the top of its game

On May 3rd, Paramore performed a solid set at a sold-out show in Columbus, Ohio. Orange Coast College alumnus and former managing editor of The Coast Report, Tony Lee, was there to catch all the action and has graciously written a review for TMP. Check it out below!

“Best show of the tour, so far,” said Paramore’s Hayley Williams after playing the third song of its 17-song set-list at the LC Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio.

She was wrong. It might have been the best show of Paramore’s career.

Paramore, led by the 5-foot-2-inch, fire-truck-red-haired vocalist, displayed they have what it takes to be the next rock ‘n’ roll superstars.

With Relient K and fun as opening acts, the band had the sold-out crowd on May 3 rocking out to its punk-pop-rock ’n’ roll fusion and showed why they are one of the top-10 bands to see in 2010.

Williams ended the 75-minute show with the same insanely energetic demeanor she had at the beginning. Guitarists Josh Farro and Taylor York, drummer Zac Farro and bassist Jeremy Davis echoed Williams’ contagious energy that had the majority-tween crowd jumping around like popcorn kernels being popped from start to finish.

Williams even took a fan’s camera during the band's last song “Misery Business”, filmed herself, her band mates, and the crowd and captured the unforgettable atmosphere (click here to see the YouTube clip).

Williams engaged with fans throughout the entire concert by encouraging them to sing along, especially during "Whoa", and sharing gifts that she received from fans.

She had a problem with her in-ear monitor during “Decode” that deprived the audience of 10 seconds of singing, but the entire crowd filled the outdoor venue by belting the lyrics word for word.

At one point, Williams announced she would be doing a “low-budget costume change” and put on a black New Found Glory hoodie because she was “freezing” on this windy day.

The hoodie, most likely an ode to New Found Glory guitarist / boyfriend Chad Gilbert, actually became an endearing accessory as she sang “The Only Exception” - Paramore’s latest single and love song.

The show consisted of basic concert lighting, three different backdrops, and gimmick-free continual flow of songs.

Last summer, Paramore was the opening act to No Doubt. This year, they are proving it's not a stretch to say Paramore may reach No Doubt’s superstardom in the near future.

Paramore’s spring concert opened on April 27 in Nashville and ends in July 2 in Werchter, Belgium at the Rock Werchter Festival. Its last U.S. spring showing will be on May 16 in Las Vegas, Nev. at The Joint.

They will headline the Honda Civic Tour starting July 23 in Raleigh, N.C. at the Raleigh Boutique Amphitheater and ending Sept. 19 in Orange County, Calif. at, fittingly, the Honda Center.

- By Tony Lee (twitter.com/sHecKii)

"Careful" clip provided by Tony Lee

"Misery Business" clip provided by YouTube user angie0491

Set-list

1. Looking Up
2. That's What You Get
3. Playing God
4. Pressure
5. For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
6. Brighter
7. Turn It Off
8. The Only Exception
9. Whoa
10. crushcrushcrush
11. Let The Flames Begin
12. Ignorance
13. Where the Lines Overlap
14. Careful
15. Brick By Boring Brick

Encore

1. Decode
2. Misery Business

Check out more on Paramore - including tour dates - at their websites:

http://www.myspace.com/paramore
http://www.paramore.net

Vampire Weekend Impress at The Fox Theater in Pomona

All Photos by Flavia McBride 

 

Two days before thousands of people swarmed to Indio, CA for the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, a seemingly endless line of ticket holders weaved their way around the circumference of The Fox Theater in Pomona to see Vampire Weekend perform a sold-out show. 

The five piece band from New York recently released their sophomore album Contra to rave reviews. The album even hit number one on the Billboard 200, and it was clear that fans at The Fox Theater had Contra in constant iPod rotation since its release. 

Vampire Weekend opened with "White Sky" and the room instantly erupted with energy that would hold throughout the entire performance. The audience danced, sang, and cheered along to favorites like "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "One (Blake's Got A New Face)" and "A Punk".

The mood quickly became relaxed for a calm and stripped down performance of "Taxi Cab", but picked right back up for "Run" during which the eyes of the woman pictured on the giant backdrop (and Contra album cover) lit up like lasers. 

 

Frontman Ezra Koenig interacted frequently with the audience, making endearing quips between songs. At one point, when asking the crowd to sing along, he said "It's gotta be funky. Not Baja Fresh, more Del Taco, know what I mean?"

Bassist Chris Baio demonstrated some admirable dance moves, and the entire band seemed genuinely excited to play together. 

Vampire Weekend closed with "Oxford Comma" before returning to play three encore songs. Koenig thanked the audience and boldly declared to all those not attending Coachella that the festival "might not get any better" than this performance. 

In a way, he was right.  Not only were Koenig's vocals spot on the entire night, but the band as a whole was able to perform in a polished yet natural way. There were no instances where I felt like I could sense the band thinking, rather they seemed to be able to let go and have fun without worrying about the result. 

The attitude definitely transferred to the audience; it seemed like the crowd could not have been any more excited to spend an evening rocking out with Vampire Weekend, and neither could I.

-Eszter Zimanyi

Check out more photos from Vampire Weekend's set at The Fox Theater on our flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/themusicpirate 

See videos of Vampire Weekend's ENTIRE set at The Fox Theater on Eszter's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/eszterzimanyi

Keep up with Vampire Weekend at their websites:
http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
http://www.vampireweekend.com

Vampire Weekend at The Fox Theater in Pomona

Last night Vampire Weekend played a show at The Fox Theater in Pomona, CA and by all accounts it was amazing. TMP sent Eszter Zimanyi to cover the event along with photographer Flavia McBride, and next week we'll have a proper review posted along with some great photos. For now though, here is one of the 19 videos Eszter took along with the set list from last night's show: 





Set list: 

1. White Sky
2. Holiday
3. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
4. I Stand Corrected
5. M79
6. Bryn
7. California English
8. Cousins
9. Taxi Cab
10. Run
11. A Punk
12. One (Blake's Got A New Face)
13. Diplomat's Son
14. Giving Up The Gun
15. Campus
16. Oxford Comma


Encore:


1. Horchata
2. Mansard Roof
3. Walcott

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 3/17 at HOB Anaheim Review

In one of their hit songs, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club answers their own question. They ask, “Whatever happened to my rock and roll?”

This is a valid question when discussing today’s underground music. We are surrounded by electronic beats and soft folksy tunes today but when searching for raw rock and roll, listeners are forced to look to the past.

At BRMC’s Tuesday performance at the House of Blues Anaheim, they answered their question with their loud guitar and heavy drums and said, “Rock and Roll is right here.”

This was apparent in the audience. While waiting for the band to start, I was surrounded by mostly men aged 50+. Some were singing along to the Iggy Pop playing in the background, probably reminiscing about when they saw The Stooges when they were my age. Of course BRMC would have an older audience; they have the same no-nonsense raw rock that The Stooges and their contemporaries have.

The band walked out on stage without saying a word, and jumped right into their music. The first thing I noticed was their new drummer, Leah Shapiro. Her heavy drums stood out in the third song of the evening, “Stop” and “Berlin.”

The first half of their set was filled with waves of fast songs to slow songs, then slowed down signifigantly mid-set. This brought the best part of the evening.



Robert sat at the piano under the spotlight and played a most beautiful rendition of the Edgar Allen Poe poem, “Annabelle Lee”. It was haunting, it was gorgeous, just like Poe wrote it. A faithful tribute.

The mood was stopped abruptly by the sharp harmonica intro of “Ain’t No Easy Way”, and continued to step up the pace with “Spread Your Love.”

Peter Hayes brought you back down again with his great acoustic solo of “Sympathetic Noose.”

The title track off their new album “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” was another stand out song.

They played three encore songs, and ended with “Open Invitation”, one of their slower, sad songs. They let us down gently, and walked away just as silent as they entered,

I heard an audience member asked as I was walked away, “Why would they end with that song?”

You can’t expect anything else from a band of rebels.

-Taylor Hamby