Paramore Holds Back Nothing During Fervid Performance At St. Louis’ Enterprise Center (SHOW REVIEW/PHOTOS)

“That’s why I don’t ever want to do guitar interviews or anything, because I just don’t know what I’m doing…I don’t have some sort of a plan, I think it just happens.”

That’s what guitarist Taylor York told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe earlier this year while discussing Paramore’s latest album, This is Why. And after seeing him rock out live, I don’t think York is fibbing. He plays mostly in one corner of the stage, with his long hair almost always covering most of his face, appearing lost in a new video game where he’s the driver and today’s roads are ones he’s never navigated. He’s a brilliant guitarist, and I can’t really say I blame him for not being interested in explaining how he captures that kind of magic. 

This is the essence of Paramore: follow a loose plan to avoid common disasters, but look for other paths. The more you talk about your craft, the more you try to explain what exactly it is you do — and how to do it — the more you realize art’s results are often out of your control if you’re willing to explore new ground. And as far as a live show goes, Paramore’s setlists may be planned, but the energy they create, together, is more complex. Any song they created months earlier in a studio and released to the world may not be the exact goal of what they’re trying to accomplish in real-time.

During the course of their two-hour set at the sold-out Enterprise Center in St. Louis on July 30th, lead singer Hayley Williams had no problems with carrying the momentum — a key part of Paramore’s show — while canvassing every square inch of the stage (like, even behind the drum kits), doing numerous leg kicks, shoulder shimmies, squats, vertical leaps…in pretty much every song. I’m guessing she’s an expert at catching her breath because that type of physical exertion is usually something I only see while covering a basketball game. And if Paramore is a team, Hayley Williams’ is its point guard.

Whatever the song calls for, Williams can handle it. From exploding out of the gates with “You First,” “The News,” and “That’s What You Get,” to a darker, slower segment where the core trio of Paramore — Williams, York, and drummer Zac Farro — performed two songs on a smaller stage that was strategically lit from behind to only show the band members’ silhouettes. It turned the arena into a subdued club where a more cabaret-style performance was going down, and although some of the audience seemed zapped of their energy source, Williams stayed true as a performer — moving her body delicately and deliberately (shadows are effective in a live performance, as David Byrne masterfully taught us a few years ago) in the dampened light with Messi-like precision, and all with equal effect as she did with the sweaty gusto that began the show.

The interlude didn’t last long, giving way to “Hard Times” from After Laughter, which was the album that preceded this year’s This is Why. It had been six years since I had heard that song — fair enough even to say I had forgotten about it. Also fair to say that I still need it. We’ve all been through a lot these past few years, and now that we’re finally back in an arena holding somewhere around 20,000 intense, maskless fans, the chorus of “Hard Times” hit harder than it did back in 2017: 

(Hard times)

Gonna make you wonder why you even try

(Hard times)

Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry

(These lives)

And I still don’t know how I even survive

Which brings me to the show’s final song of the night, “This is Why.” It was played after the biggest Paramore hits, “Misery Business,” “Ain’t It Fun,” and “Still Into You,” and I heard several people question that decision — “They shouldn’t have closed with that, I didn’t even know it” and “yeah, ‘Misery’ would have been a better closer, why oh WHY do bands do that?” was the conversation I overheard. 

And I get it — we always want to know why. Fans want to hear the hits, and they want them blasted together like the grand finale of a fireworks show. And Paramore did that, they just didn’t leave us in a glow.

Instead, our final moment together was hearing a song about not wanting — or better yet — the dangers of having to leave the house. You know — the free falls, opinions, and constant criticism of the vocal society around us. 

But to get where you want in life, you sometimes need to leave and relinquish all control. If “This is Why” was never written, the album on which it appears doesn’t exist, and the current Paramore tour probably doesn’t exist. And the reason why we all left the house in the first place on a Sunday evening goes away. 

Oh, why?

That was why. 

Photos by Jason Gonulsen at No Hidden Path

Paramore Setlist Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO, USA 2023, Paramore in North America

 

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