Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe
Hot on the heels of their fifth studio album, After Laughter, Paramore play to a packed crowd at the Genting Arena, with only a handful of tickets left in the Gods of the 15,683 capacity venue. Not bad for a Sunday. Not bad for any day.
Paramore are back in Birmingham for one of only five dates on the UK leg of Tour Three, with support from Philadelphia’s mewithoutYou, before heading across the globe for gigs in Australia, New Zealand and South Asia.
And the line up looks strong, replete with Zac Farro (one of the original members who left the band in 2010) and three additional touring musicians making up the Tour Three ensemble. But an even more palpable strength tonight comes from the crowd.
Kicking off, quite literally (as Williams demonstrates her ability to boot you in the face, should she want too) with the first single from their last album – the poignantly penned ‘Hard Times’ – Paramore belt out a set of classic hits from their more rockier albums, alongside a smorgasbord of pop nuggets from After Laughter.
But even whilst delivering their earlier rock fuelled singles such as ‘Ignorance’ and ‘That’s What You Get’, there is a undeniably pop tinge to the Paramore on stage today, something a smattering of the near 16,000 strong crowd might have taken little getting used to.
Although some things never change, and by the time one lucky audience member is brought on stage for ‘Misery Business’ the entire arena is joining in and singing along.
Paramore have both a loyal fan base and a chequered history, with the Hayley Williams fronted band changing its line up several times in recent years and steering through some publicly choppy waters. Williams is the one with the record deal, but the arguments over ownership and copyright have spilled off the stage and across the internet since Jeremy Davis first left the band in 2005.
Then there’s their move from rock, to pop rock, to pop, which seems to have been consolidated with Paramore’s latest LP. But the fevour of their fanbase has clearly mitigated any on stage issues or revolving door quabbles, as the energy that fills the Genting Arena tonight stands testament to the songwriting and success Paramore are responsible for.
Plus Hayley Williams is a ferocious front woman, exuding inexhaustible energy as she flits across the stage and talks, with some candour, to the Birmingham crowd. Not least about the “safe little place” she finds on stage.
And it can’t be easy to be in her shoes sometimes (especially whilst head high kicking themselves across a Sunday stage) but Paramore seem as confident as ever tonight – in both their new direction and in the army of fans that will seemingly follow them wherever they lead. Or to the Midlands, at least.
Paramore @ Genting Arena 14.01.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review
For more from Paramore, visit www.paramore.net
For more from mewithoutYou, visit www.mewithoutyou.com
For more on the Genting Arena, venue details and further event listings, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk
For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com
In contrast, it seems that 
Making their way back on the stage in coordinated jackets to spell out the song title, 
As impressed as I am with the three bands, the hero of the night is the crowd. I love young crowds, not for their ‘energy’ (being 24, I can’t claim I’m exactly tired yet) but for their commitment to having a good time. They aren’t jaded or overly educated in what makes good music to stop them from enjoying themselves to the fullest. They are a generation raised on a diet of too-cool-for-school trap beats and icy pop – Drake, Post Malone and Taylor Swift are played during intervals – but their appetite for indie coexists.
When we hold events we place people in the kitchen with established chefs, we bring the chefs into their colleges to teach them, and then we host four events a year across nine areas – so we’ve got a nice easy conversation going on between both sides. And whilst we’ve got them all in one place we bring the brands in; without the brands we couldn’t stage the events, with them supplying ingredients and equipment.”
There’s a lot of incentive for schools to hang on to their students and not send them to college – but we need the schools to help us and give those young people a fair range of careers to choose from.”
. The students will produce the food with the chefs as mentors, which will be a signature dish from the individual chef’s menu.” And this is supported by the industry suppliers that will be showcasing – both ingredients and equipment – as part of the event? “Absolutely, and we don’t charge the colleges to work with us. We charge the suppliers and there are about 20 to 30 at each event, so it’s like a mini trade show.”
But I don’t care if they give me £10 or £50, because they appreciate what we’re doing and they know all the money is going to The Chefs’ Forum Educational Foundation. But people can pay what they feel; I wouldn’t ever turn anyone away.”
as well as staring as the female lead in Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star Is Born.
