Paramore Causes a Riot in Little Rock

Douglas Boultinghouse
Staff Writer

   Punk-Pop/Rock band Paramore brought their “Final RIOT! Summer Tour” to Little Rock on Aug. 5. They brought with them three opening bands to warm the crowd up.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Hear Me Out - Hayley Williams encourages the crowd to sing along with “Born For This." Paramore was the last of four acts at the Little Rock Riverfest Amphitheater Aug. 5.

   The electric rock duo Paper Route took the stage first as the crowd filled the Riverfest Amphitheater. While the music sounded decent, the band lacked energy. The foul-mouthed Phantom Planet followed. Their music was good, they livened up the crowd, but I don’t think I have heard the “F" word so many times in one night.  

   The third opening act, who in actuality performed enough to be a co-headliner, the piano-driven rock band Jack’s Mannequin pumped the fans up for Paramore. Lead singer and pianist Andrew McMahon sailed through their songs “The Resolution,” “Made for Each Other,” “Bruised,” “Dark Blue” and the "One Tree Hill" show featured song “The Mixed Tape,” as well as many others.  

   After a 45-minute wait, the lights flashed and the loud music began as Hayley Williams and her band Paramore gave the fans what they had been waiting for: a RIOT! The show also served as a homecoming for band member Jeremy Davis, a native of Little Rock.

   They opened their show with “Born for This” and through flips, jumps and powerful vocals they performed an hour and a half set. Their energy filled show showcased the hits “Misery Business,” “That’s What You Get,” “Crushcrushcrush” and “When It Rains.” Also thrown into the mix were bone-chilling performances of the songs “My Heart,” “We Are Broken” and “Hallelujah,” which included an acoustic introductory cover of the Jeff Buckley classic of the same name (originally by Leonard Cohen.)

   For going to the show on a whim, I was beyond impressed with Jack’s Mannequin and Paramore and found myself singing their songs to this day. I do not remember much about the first two opening bands, but from what I do recall, I am not forgetting much.

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