This Is Why

Paramore’s This Is Why Tour technically started last October - they even made a stop in Atlanta to play the historic Tabernacle. However, the veteran indie alt band from Franklin, TN, still decided to swing back through The Big Peach on Thursday May 25th to play the State Farm Arena, and did not disappoint their fans who came out in droves. The crowd cheered as the lights fell and singer Hayley Williams’s voice filled the arena in a pre-recorded spoken word poem. The lights slowly brightened and the band took the stage, opening up the show with “You First” from their latest album, This Is Why. As that song closed, the opening chords of “That’s What You Get” began and the crowd’s energy multiplied.

From the beginning and throughout the show, Williams made it a point to remind everyone that the people standing next to them - the whole crowd - was a family. She commented on how messed up the world is and how hard it can be to survive day-to-day, but how beautiful and amazing it is that people can come together to revel in a common interest: music. The audience was full of people from every generation, all different races and backgrounds, sexualities and genders. Everyone came together to belt out the lyrics to these songs that so many people can find themselves in, be heard in. You could feel the energy shift as they felt empowered and united in their common love for this band.

Their set continued, bouncing back-and-forth between classics and newer songs, even including a song from Hayley’s solo album. Hayley incorporated a brief tribute to Tina Turner, who recently passed, during Paramore’s “Told You So” by singing a bit of Turner’s classic “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” Afterwards, Hayley spoke on the legend’s memory and attributed her own belief in herself succeeding as a rockstar to Turner’s astounding stage presence. During the later half of the set, Zac Farro, the band’s beloved drummer, rose from his kit to take to the front of the stage where he and Hayley covered “Baby” - a song from Zac’s solo project, HalfNoise.

As the band began playing “Misery Business,” most likely Paramore’s most notable song, the vivacity of the crowd felt electric. Just before the final chorus of the song, Hayley looked for a volunteer to come on stage and help her finish it off. She selected an audience member from the barricade who she said had been screaming every word so far. The fan was brought up to the stage and claimed they were no singer but would give it their all. The crowd ate it up and you could tell the band enjoyed the opportunity to have that special moment with their fan.

As the song closed, the lucky fan snapped a quick photo with Hayley and exited the stage. At this point, the show was coming to a close so crew members holding “Paramoat” signs began walking down the sides of the pit. Prior to the show, stickers were given out to a few lucky folks to be a part of the “Paramoat,” a small section just behind the stage where they could be closer to the band and be shown on the jumbo screens during the final few songs. Paramore closed out their encore with “Still Into You” and “This Is Why” leaving the crowd with promises to be back soon and a sense of nostalgia that hung in the air as the night had come to an end for the Atlanta stop of this tour.