Live Review: Paramore, Bleachers

Bleachers refer to the crowd as "little Rod Lavers" tonight at their first-ever show in Australia. "Since we landed here, everything just seemed so incredibly right!" says frontman Jack Antonoff. An ominous keyboard chord introduces Rollercoaster, the very sad sound that Antonoff says started the band as he wrote this and many other songs in his bedroom but now plays to an arena filled with people. The band's energy is infectious and Antonoff moves around with so much confidence, getting the moshpit excited with hand gestures that kick off Mexican Waves in the front section. He has an instrumental battle with his guitar versus the saxophonist, before diving into their biggest hits Don't Take The Money and I Wanna Get Better. If anyone in the crowd who wasn't a fan before tonight, this performance surely wins them over.

A drumming intro led by recently returned, original Paramore band member Zac Farro builds the anticipation before they burst onto the stage with Hard Times. The lead single from their latest album After Laughter is a fitting song to kick off Tour Four, the band's first Australian headline show in over four years. "Some things stay the same and some change, but here we are together again," says lead singer Hayley Williams. "All you need are some tissues and some dancing shoes!" she adds, before launching into an old favourite, That's What You Get. "This song goes out to Paramore!" Williams shouts before Still Into You.

A lot of time has passed since the new record came out and after more than a decade fans are still supporting this band on their rollercoaster journey. Tonight's show is a celebration of how much they've grown up and Williams declares that they don't have to be who they used to be anymore. Gone are the days of her fiery-red hair, teenage angst and head-banging, but they'll never lose the riot that burns inside them. They've matured and reinvented themselves with a bright dance-pop direction that now even includes synth-kissed production and bongos in the percussion mix.

Tonight's setlist is a reflection of who Paramore are in 2018 as they address the feeling people have after they're done laughing, which suggests they've come back from some dark realities. The majority of this show is centred around their new material, although they throw in a handful of older tracks for the long-time fans, i ncluding Misery Business and I Caught Myself (which featured on the Twilight soundtrack).

Farro makes his way over from his position behind the drums to the front of stage and addresses the audience in a terrible Aussie accent: "G'day, mates, how're you bloody chaps doin'?" He then takes a moment to play a song from his own band HalfNoise, called French Class, to give us a taste of the side-project he's been working on in his time away from Paramore. The super-funky tune gets everyone up dancing along, and Williams even joins in on back-up vocals and swaps roles with him for a few drum taps. Williams points out that it's been eight years since she's performed live on stage in Australia with Farro and admits she's glad to have him back in the band. Their latest single Rose-Colored Boy is the final track of the show, which ends on a high note. They change up the final chorus with Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody, a song that's a nod to one of the inspirations behind the sad-pop banger, which transports us back to the '80s.