PARAMORE WRAPS UP SUMMER TOUR
The rock band fronted by Hayley Williams finishes touring with a great show at Red Rocks that draws a sellout crowd.
opular rock band Paramore, fronted by the tiny yet mighty Hayley Williams, wrapped its summer tour with a sold-out Red Rocks crowd Tuesday night. The colorful, 1980s-channeling concert also featured Jay Som and Foster the people.
The evening got off to a soaking start thanks to some severe Colorado weather. Hundreds were still filtering into all the entrances at 8 p.m. as Foster the People (“Pumped Up Kicks,” “Sit Next To Me”) started its set after the doors were held on a rain delay.
A quick hour-long trip to the “Sacred Hearts Club” with FTP took the crowd on a dancey, synth-rock journey as the rain made way for the pastel orange and pink sunset that popped the natural amphithe-
ater’s greens and reds even more than usual.
At 9:30 on the dot, when the sky was dark behind the almostfull moon, Paramore began to play. And for the next two hours, Williams never stopped moving.
The group opened with “Grudges” — which was ironic since it was the first Red Rocks show since 2010 in which the band played with returning drummer Zac Farro, according to Williams.
The two-hour show spanned years of the group’s discography, covering heartbreak to girl power and everything in between.
By the fourth song, “That’s What You Get,” Williams took off the neon yellow shoes to make way for her signature high kicks and spins to solidify the night’s dance party vibes. She stayed shoe-less the rest of the night.
“We’re back. This time it is sweeter than ever; it feels so good,” Williams said as she humbly looked upon the Morrison crowd as if it was her first time there, not her third.
She led the crowd through many of the band’s signature, singable one-liners with such accuracy that you’d never know she was at the end of a tour, and at altitude.
To really drive it home during “Ignorance,” Williams broke out a megaphone as remnant lightning danced in the distance.
“Don’t wanna hear your sad songs I don’t wanna feel your pain When you swear it’s all my fault Cause you know we’re not the same (Hey)”
After a quick band break, things slowed down for an intimate set that started with an acoustic version of Drake’s “Passionfruit” (on the same day he announced both of his Denver shows were postponed).
Williams spoke as if she were sitting in her living room, and not at the head of a 10,000-fan crowd. “We’ve played Red Rocks, but this means more now than it ever has before,” she said as she talked about wrapping the tour. “It’s been an amazing year.”
Cellphone lights slowly started to illuminate the amphitheatre for “Misguided Ghosts” and “26,” and Williams got visibly emotional as the crowd shared in the singing duties.
Williams joked, “It got a little emotional there!” and it was back to the party with the signal from Williams: “Get those dancing shoes on, baby.” (Or, in her case, the one-foot-in-one-footout look she was rocking after dancing her right foot free from her stocking’s hold.)
The band closed the regular set with the hits “Misery Business” and “Ain’t It Fun” while Williams went full-on-audienceparticipation mode, jumping the rails into the stands and pulling people on stage to sing with her.
“This is our favorite tour we’ve ever done,” she said during the obligatory encore.
The show, and the band’s latest tour, wrapped with “Hard Times.” From the all-out jam sessions, dancing and energy, it was clear at Red Rocks Tuesday that being in Paramore is anything but hard times.