Forget what you think you know about Paramore.
No longer are the Tennessee band all about angst, eyeliner and power chords. Paramore in 2018 are an altogether more nuanced, diverse and enjoyable proposition.
Hayley Williams’ hair has changed from bright orange to blonde, and the music has gone through a similar transformation. Set opener Hard Times, taken from last year’s After Laughter, was an infectious blend of skittering beats and highlife guitars — not ingredients previously associated with this enduring pop-punk band.
Forgiveness, meanwhile, nodded to the Eighties-indebted grooves of Haim, while Hate To See Your Heartbreak was almost Bee Gees-esque in its dewy-eyed sentiment and close harmonies.
That Paramore navigate these new waters so successfully has much to do with the quality of Williams’ voice, which was easily big enough to fill this giant arena.
Besides, there was still plenty of heavy-riffing to satisfy the Kerrang! faithful. That’s What You Get — one of the standout tracks from Paramore’s mega-selling 2007 album Riot! — was a mass of buzzsaw guitars and fist-pumping sentiment.
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As is customary at Paramore gigs, a fan was invited onstage to sing the similarly big-hitting Misery Business, while the funky Ain’t It Fun cued handclaps and hollering all the way to the back.
The result was a set that had both light and shade, melody and mayhem: a formula that deserves to win Paramore new followers without losing them any of their old ones.
