For a petite performer like Hayley Williams - the feisty, flame-haired frontwoman of rock band Paramore - the stage can be a daunting space. Fortunately, Williams has the panache and confidence of a musician more than twice her age.
Paramore, who’ve been largely out of the spotlight since December 2010, took the stage to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of their record label, the pivotal emo imprint Fueled By Ramen. “Fifteen years,” Williams said proudly. “That’s like, more than half my life!”
It’s true. At just 22 years old, Williams, and her band, are young. But for the better half of the decade, they’ve been aweing fans and winning over critics with the ferocity of their live show - and Wednesday night at Terminal 5 in New York City was no exception.
At an absolutely eardrum-splitting volume, the Tennessee rockers raced through high-energy hits both old - “Ignorance,” “Emergency” - and new - “Monster,” “Crushcrushcrush” - proving that they are easily one of the tightest, most cohesive bands on the touring circuit toda
Even the heartfelt rock ballads - “My Heart,” “Playing God,” Twilight crowd-pleaser “Decode” and Glee favorite and set closer “The Only Exception” - pack the kind of powerful punch an ’80s hair band could only dream of. Towards the middle of the show, Williams gave her voice a break with a couple of acoustic numbers, including a country-tinged performance (their first in America) of “In The Morning” that segued seamlessly in a gorgeous rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”
But no matter how big the band’s sound, not to mention Williams’ stage presence, the singer still manages to make you feel like you’re her best friend as she interacts with the crowd, right down to handing the mic to a fan during the chorus of perennial favorite “Misery Business.” Even better - it’s not an act. It’s easy to tell that Williams is having an absolute blast every second she’s on that stage.
To commemorate their last show of the year, Paramore offered fans a special treat during the encore: the first performance ever of a brand new song, “Renegade” - a snarling yet still melodic (how does she do it?) screamer with churning guitars and a percussive assault.
Fifteen years is a long time, but in just over half of that time, Paramore has become of the Fueled By Ramen’s biggest successes. Not that they’ve let it go to their head. “This night could not possibly be better,” she said, shouting out the label that made them (and likely echoing the thoughts of every fan in the room). “We are part of something that will never, ever go away, and we should all be proud of that.”