First of all, my sister and I arrived at Birmingham LG Arena at 5am. We sat down with a group of campers who had been there since 11pm the night before. The atmosphere was pleasant, quite cold but strangely cosy. I met many people who I knew from social sites and people who I’d met before from previous Paramore events. We were instantly given a number. I was EE 3 (Early Entry 3) and my sister was number 11. This was a brilliant idea, as it stopped queue jumpers, as learnt from previous shows. It’s not fair to the people who camped out all night, to the people who arrived at 4pm and jumped straight to the front of the queue. All the staff were lovely and very helpful. They told us where to go and what to do. It was one of the most organised shows I had ever been too.
I was so surprised to see the amount of 30+ fans. It made us feel better knowing that we can love Paramore at any age. Why do we have to grow up and change our music taste for others? I just thought that we can grow old, but we will never grow up inside.
When the doors opened I got straight to the centre of the barrier. The best spot in the arena. As my sister was number 11 in the queue she managed to get a spot next to me.
The first band ‘Eliza and The Bear’ were very vibrant and enjoyable. They definitely knew how to get the crowd moving. They reminded me of ‘Of Monsters and Men’ and ‘Mumford and Sons’. Which are two bands that I completely adore. The second band on stage was Charli XCX. This girl band got so many mixed reviews. They were a guilty pleasure. I wouldn’t buy their music, but they weren’t a bad band. It’s just not the kind of music I like. They are the total opposite to Paramore.
Then the time we had all been waiting for… The start of ‘Grow Up’ began to play and the arena was completely dark. Everyone was cheering, then the noise of the crowd grew when you could see the silhouette of the Paramore bars behind the curtain. The curtain fell and the lights went on. It was just so good to see the band so happy. You could tell they were thrilled to be back after 3 years.
I couldn’t possibly tell you what the best song of the night was. One thing that sticks in my mind though was that I remember singing along to ‘Last Hope’. My sister and I looked at each other and were smiling our hearts out. I noticed Hayley looked at us, and she smiled back. It was magical. Secondly just after ‘The Only Exception’, Hayley said a very heart warming, but emotional speech just before ‘In the Morning’. “We’re so grateful, and we’re so thankful, and we feel better than ever and that’s because of you.” Hayley began to let a few tears slip, but she held it together and as usual, completely astounded us with her voice.
Paramore at the start said it would be a long night, but wow… Time does fly by when you’re having fun! They finished the set off with ‘Still Into You’ and confetti blowing and bursting everywhere.
The next morning we arrived at Nottingham at 7am. We queued again as normal and we were numbered 26 and 27. The numbers only reached to 50, so as normal people jumped the queues. Half the crowd was split into two and we had to enter at the same time as the people who arrived a lot later in the day. Luckily we got to the barrier again; however we were on the right hand side, in front of dear Taylor York.
When Eliza and The Bear started, they were again completely outstanding. This time the stadium was hotter than the night before, so extra water was needed for fans. I did notice more fans passed out at this show. Charli XCX made a return to the stage; on the other hand they didn’t get a great response from the crowd at this venue. Some fans chanted ‘Paramore’ and a girl stood next to me with her iPod out and her earphones in her ears.
Again the crowd roared to the sound of ‘Grow Up’. Knowing this was my last show of the tour, I was quite emotional. I had met so many lovely people, so I owed it to myself to just let myself go for the last show, for a long time. We all hope it won’t be another 3 years!
Paramore completely rocked both nights. We were insanely lucky to stand where we stood. My sister was even lucky enough to catch Taylor’s drumstick. She jumped the highest she had ever jumped to catch it. It was one of the best two night of our lives. We forgot our troubles and made some brilliant friends for life.
– Paige Greensmith
