2013/05/15 Boston, MA (REPORT 2)

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Like many others, I grew up with this band. I’m not kidding when I say that – Paramore was the band that opened up an entire universe of alternative music for me at age 14. They were the reason I wanted to give a shit about music. I distinctly remember buying skinny jeans and every neon eyeshadow quad in existence because if Hayley Williams could rock that look, then so could I. Paramore defined who I was during my awkward teenage phase, and I will never forget that. Thinking about Paramore in 2007 and their relevance six years ago as I reflect on seeing them in 2013 makes me very nostalgic, emotional, and extremely proud of their amazing accomplishments. There is something so special about a group of musicians progressing in their careers when it’s parallel to your own personal evolution.

 

Writing about Paramore’s show in Boston was actually a terrible chore, because I had to take the time to figure out how to explain it logically and rationally. I would have loved to just write one giant run on sentence with a lot of “oh and then THIS happened and THIS and THIS and I CRIED!!!1!!!” but I know I could do much better than that.

Since I tag my posts – for those of you who are dropping by to read this and don’t know me, I’m Claire. I love music and I love to write about it and take my writing semi seriously, but as nothing more than just a hobby. I almost always have a disposable camera in tow when I attend shows, and my favorite thing to do after I experience live music is to share it with everyone through words and pictures. I have a lot on my mind and I’m ready to write it all down, so here we go!

The show really started on February 1st, when I made an event out of the ticket purchase itself. I waited by my computer at 10AM while continually refreshing the Internet window until I was successful. Since February 1st, my entire agenda was all just part of the countdown until this day. It had been three years since I had seen Paramore, but four years since I had seen them from the general admission section of the crowd. In that time period, I had attended so many shows and evolved so much in my music tastes that seeing Paramore in 2013 as a 20 year old was going to be a completely new experience that was sure to bring back a lot of memories.

I had known from past experiences that the kind of crowds at Paramore shows can be tough to make your way to the front if you get there pretty late. Combine that with my borderline unhealthy levels of excitement – I got the the House of Blues at 9:30 AM. I made sure I took off of work and cancelled all obligations for this day, because I was dedicating the entire day to this show. I was really nervous on my way there (I live in the city so it didn’t take me long) because I didn’t know what I was getting myself into by getting there super early. How many people would be in line? Was committing to waiting for 10 hours actually a good idea? I considered just scoping out the situation and walking around Kenmore Square for a while before waiting in line, but I was relieved to find about six other people faithfully camped outside when I walked down Lansdowne Street. Two people had slept on the street the night before. I was in good company.

The time waiting in line from 9:30 in the morning to about 4 in the afternoon went by incredibly fast. Granted, it was spent talking with some of the great people I met waiting in line, as well as some friends who met up with me later in the day. I ended up getting to see a friend who I hadn’t seen in three years because I learned she was going to the show that day! I want to stress the importance of the community that comes together through music for a quick second – I’ve made so many great friends because of the bands I listen to, and Paramore is no exception. I still stay in touch with two girls I met when I waited outside of the House of Blues in Chicago for their show in 2009. If you’re the type that waits in line or if you’re like me and go to shows alone sometimes, I encourage you to make friends while you’re there and stay in touch because it’s such a special thing.

The House of Blues has a really smart business tactic, and it’s that if you spend fifteen dollars on merchandise or buy some food from their restaurant, they give you a receipt that grants you access to a different line, which they let in first. I had passed up the offer in the past, but I decided, despite being a pathetic broke college student, to go for it. By 4 PM, when the restaurant opened, people were crowded around the door with every intention to take advantage of skipping the line. The coolest thing was when people let me and the others who were waiting with me for the past several hours go first, since they knew we had been there for so long. I now have some nifty House of Blues Pins to commemorate the experience, and I was soon at the front of the line staring at the big blue doors with butterflies in my stomach. It’s unreal how quickly the first six and a half hours went by, but how painfully slowly the next three dragged on. It had gone from being a beautiful sunny day (I ended up getting a really attractive sunburn on both arms) to being cold and rainy, but nonetheless, all of this was worth it.

I suppose I’ve written enough paragraphs about everything that led up to the show itself that I should probably spill the details that really matter, right? Of course. I’ll spare you the other mundane information about how I got there, but I ended up in the second row, and just a little bit to the left. Throughout the night, I ended up shifting further back and to the side.

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I was really curious about the opening band, Kitten. Are they actually just a bunch of kittens? Do they bring kittens on stage with them? So many unanswered questions. Turns out, neither of those things were true, and instead, they’re just an incredibly impressive group of musicians. I don’t know about all members of the band, but the singer, Chloe Chaidez, is sixteen or seventeen years old. First of all, that sends me into a major existential crisis. Second of all, DAMN. Chloe moved all around the stage and owned the set, and at one point, she jumped on a security guard’s shoulders. She is incredibly fierce and sexy and it showed. Their music is definitely a style that I don’t listen to that much, but I was very into everything they played. There were a lot of pop and new wave kind of influences, and I felt like it was 1986. I mean, I was born in 1993, but the whole thing was what I think 1986 must have felt like. I should have seen it coming, but after they finished playing, I heard people echoing things like “ugh, she is such a slut”, etc. I’m just gonna roll my eyes into the back of my head and throw my arms in the air in frustration, because apparently, when a girl does things like wear fishnet tights, put rhinestones on her eyebrows and, oh, I don’t know, be comfortable with herself and not exist to please society’s expectation of them, people want to shame the absolute heck out of them?????? I later learned that Chloe has been in bands since she was 10 years old (!!!!!), but in any case – You Go Girl. Don’t listen to anyone who feels the need to call you a slut. Please keep doing what you’re doing and I can’t wait to see your band in the future. Coming from a proud feminist, you’re doing a great thing for young women in music.

So, how do I truly write about all of the emotions I felt once Paramore came out on stage? Because to be honest, I don’t think I remember. All of a sudden, Hayley and Taylor were on the right side of the stage underneath a spotlight, opening their monster of a set with Moving On. I didn’t think I knew the words, but surprise! I did! I believe I was singing along and crying at the same time. I cheated and I looked up the setlist in advance, so I knew what was coming next. The second the band transitioned into Misery Business and For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic and their three bar logo lit up with the Riot! artwork, I instantly felt like I was fourteen again. What an incredible feeling that was, especially considering that some girls in the crowd were fourteen and completely reminded me of myself when I first discovered Paramore’s music.

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For the remainder of the concert, I danced around like a fool until I was completely exhausted. At some times, I don’t even think I was able to see the stage and my arm felt like it was going to fall off from holding it in the air so much, so I just had a little dance party to myself in the middle of the crowd. I was especially excited for Ain’t It Fun, because that song is nothing short of my anthem. I recently turned 20 and I’ve been gradually transitioning into adult life and being independent since I moved to Boston two years ago, so lyrics like “Ain’t it good being on your own? Ain’t it fun you can’t count on no one?” and of course, the ultimate gospel choir jam that preaches “Don’t go cryin’ to your mama, cause you’re on your own in the real world” seriously hit home for me.

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One of the highlights was something that definitely happens at a lot of concerts, but I had never been able to experience before – during The Only Exception, Hayley pulled out a piece of paper halfway through and called two people up to the stage. I immediately knew what this entailed, but I just watched all googly eyed as a couple got engaged on stage and continued to slow dance for the rest of the song. Man, I know I said I cried a lot, but this brought on the fucking waterworks. Here’s why it matters when you see a cheesy engagement at a concert: those people are going to remember that night for the rest of their life. They are going to tell their grandkids about how they got engaged. And even though they have no idea who you are and you simply watched it happen, you were a part of it. That’s what matters most to me, at least, because tears were streaming down my face as I was thinking “I was just part of a cool thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh god we were all just part of a cool thing!!!!!!!!!!”.

By the time the band played Still Into You, I was so tired that I don’t even know how I continued to jump around and be so energetic. I knew this was going to be the last song before the encore, and since I had already fallen out of my really good spot in the crowd, I decided that I was going to leave where I was and head to the back, with an epic crowd surf during Brick By Boring Brick on my mind. I began wandering around the back of the crowd like a lost puppy, asking everyone around me if they would agree to help me up only to get confused or negative responses. It’s been so long since I’ve been to a big formal show at the House of Blues, so I forgot how different the crowd can be, especially in the instance of attempting to crowd surf. I could have sworn a few other people had done it, but, uh, okay, I guess I can admit to it not being the best idea. I was clearly too high on life and full of adrenaline to properly realize this and evaluate the decision I had just made though, oops. I got dropped three times, a lot of weird stares, and a concerned fan who made sure I was okay but very sternly told me to be careful because I almost hit my head. By time I was above the crowd, the whole thing lasted about two seconds and I’m sure the crowd wholly saw my butt. My beautiful, pale, sweaty butt. (Okay, so, if you were to look up any other Youtube video from a show I’ve been to, you’d quickly realize that unfortunately, my beautiful buttocks have quite the history with crowds at concerts). For the .00003 seconds I was between the barricade and the stage, I threw the horns up in the air and probably let out the biggest “YEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH” imaginable. I was on Cloud Nine, and I could care less how weird I looked. (Alright, so I’m actually feeling a little bit of embarrassment now that I’ve written everything out, but it was absolutely worth it and I regret nothing).

I immediately double fisted the free water left out at the bar because I swear, I’d never been more thirsty in my life. I ran a half marathon my junior year of high school, and even that didn’t compare to how sweaty I was. I wore my completely drenched flowery top like a badge of honor. And just like that, the months of anticipation, the hours of waiting in line, the butterflies in my tummy, and the cheering at the top of my lungs, had come to an end. I don’t even want to talk about post concert depression, because right now it’s at the level of ugly crying whenever anything reminds me of it. (Also, thoughts of “ugh how dare they play any other city, they should just play all of their shows in Boston forever”).

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I want to end this whole thing on the note that, I am so proud to be a resident of and to attend shows in Boston. Seeing Hayley sport a Have Heart edition of a Boston Strong Shirt had me thinking about how even though the past month has been extremely emotional and life changing, I am reminded every single day that this is still one of the best cities in the world. My favorite bands love Boston and many of them like to think of it as their home away from home, and not just because they tell every city that.

Paramore’s show on May Fifteenth, Two Thousand and Thirteen is one that I will never, ever forget.

 

– Claire