Openers, Kiwi duo The Jury & The Saints, have nit been around long, but you would not guess it with their confident stage show. Using samples to fatten up the sound produced by a powerhouse, back-flipping drummer and energetic guitarist/singer, the band sounded like the electronic-laced music of the new Good Charlotte, just a whole lot more fun. A cover of Tail Cruz's Dynamite and new single, Brand New, both got huge reactions from a quickly filling floor.
Christian pop/punkers Relient K took the stage next with a well-honed live set. The band played the three singles from Breakout album, Mmhmm, and drew heavily from most recent album, Forget And Not Slow Down. Sadly, a muddy mix made it difficult to hear their intricate, piano-laced pop/punk; for the majority of the set, the kick drum, one guitar and vocals were all that cur through. A cover of Toto's Africa seemed an odd choice considering the median age of the crowd wad about 15, but it was well received and featured a killer keyboard solo.
The crowd erupted as a black shroud dropped to reveal the new Paramore launching into Ignorance - with a sixth member, a huge show and confidence to boot. Hayley Williams showed why she deserving of all the praise heaped on her, as her vocal performance was incredible and it was amazing to hear such a powerful voice emitted from such a young, energetic performer.
Williams wasn't lying when she said the crowd could expect something akin to Soundwave, "but with heaps more songs." The band played a 16-song set pulling material from all of their three albums. Williams and guitarist paid homage to their Nashville roots with an acoustic cover of Loretta Lynn's You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man) and set the stage for an acoustic intermission, bringing a couch on stage. Showing their versatility, Paramore played lounge versions of When It Rains, Where The Lines Overlap and Misguided Ghosts, which gave an illusion of intimacy in such a big venue. The band closed with a rocked-up version of The Only Exception and solified their stadium rock status with pyrotechnics during the final chorus.
A literally deafening encore chant brought the band back out for Brick By Boring Brick and a rendition of Misery Business with Australian Idol winner Stan Walker and Farrow stripping down to reveal Aussie flag boxers.
- Dave Drayton
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