Pop-punk band Paramore solidified its legacy as one of the biggest and best groups in the game on Wednesday night, filling Little Caesars Arena with adoring fans — many of whom appeared to be seeing them for the first time.
When lead singer Hayley Williams asked the crowd if it was their first Paramore gig, she seemed stunned by the large show of hands, repeating the question for a quick recount. You would never guess from watching the fans, which skewed young and female, belt along to every lyric.
Formed in Tennessee in 2004, the band signed to the influential Fueled By Ramen label and exploded in popularity in the Warped Tour era. In the years since, Paramore has fleshed out its sound, growing to a seven-piece band on this tour with a slick pop feel and at times an almost funky Talking Heads-ish vibe, against a futuristic backdrop.
Genre-defying Australian act Genesis Owusu opened the show, performing a compelling blend of pop, punk, and hip-hop that contrasted with the gothic red-and-black costumes worn by the 25-year-old singer and his three male backup dancers. Several times he pumped up the crowd by asking, “Detroit, are you ALIVE?” and at the end of his set his dancers unfurled a large banner that read “DON’T FORGET TO SMILE.”
Also on the bill was England’s Bloc Party, an angular, jittery pop-punk band from the era that Paramore came up in. On a podcast last year, Williams said she was a huge fan of Bloc Party’s 2005 album Silent Alarm, adding that she listened to it constantly as a teenager while driving with her friends in her first car. She also said Paramore’s sixth album, This Is Why, released earlier this year, was heavily influenced by the band.
In between rock star moves, writhing and strutting on stage and even doing the splits at the climax of one song, Williams took time to recall the band’s Motor City history — including playing its first local show at The Shelter basement venue at Saint Andrew’s Hall and hearing her 2007 smash hit “Misery Business” for the first time on the radio here. (We’re guessing that must have been on 89X, R.I.P.) Williams also shouted out Papa Smurf, an affable Greektown figure who used to offer to “watch” concertgoers’ cars for a fee. —Lee DeVito
