I’m so glad I got to see Paramore again, in Singapore this time, and minus drummer Zac Farro. When I first saw them in Manila last year, Josh Farro wasn’t with them because he was too busy planning his wedding. The concert was held on 21 August 2011 at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Here are some of the things I remember about the concert:

1) The Indoor Stadium wasn’t really packed, but maybe that’s because the venue is too huge.

2) They started with Ignorance, one of their catchiest songs.

3) They sang Decode quite early in the show, unlike in Manila where they reserved it towards the end.

4) They had an acoustic set, which included Misguided Ghosts.

5) Hayley was wearing a strange pair of black and white leggings, as in one side is black, the other is white.

6)  They did not perform My Heart. Again. I’m losing hope of ever seeing them perform it live, especially with Josh-the-growler gone.

7) I thought Brick by Boring Brick was their encore, but surprisingly they closed the show with an older hit, Misery Business.

Here is the full set list.

1. Ignorance
2. Feeling Sorry
3. That’s What You Get
4. For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
5. Emergency
6. Playing God
7. Decode
8. When It Rains
9. Where the Lines Overlap
10. Misguided Ghosts
11. Crushcrushcrush
12. Monster
13. Here We Go Again
14. Pressure
15. Looking Up
16. The Only Exception
17. Brick by Boring Brick
18. Misery Business

I don’t even remember when I first heard about Paramore. It was probably about two years ago, when my then-boyfriend (and now-husband) heard “That’s What You Get” on the radio and was intrigued by the beat used during the stanza. I listened to the song and liked it, but I didn’t become a fan until I got hold of their albums a couple of months after. Since then, my husband and I have been talking about how we wished Paramore would have a concert in Manila so that we could finally watch them perform live. Thank goodness they did! The concert was held at the Mall of Asia Grounds in Manila, Philippines on 9 March 2010.

We were actually pretty late for the concert and missed the opening act (Callalily). While we were entering the gate, people started screaming and I ran inside and was met by a huge, dense crowd and a very limited view of the stage and the big screens. But that doesn’t matter so much – just hearing them perform and singing along with the crowd was such a huge rush. Here are some of the highlights that I remember from the concert:

1) Hayley shouted “Kamustah kayow?,” much to the delight of the Filipino crowd. It turns out she wrote the greeting on her arm, probably to make sure that she’ll remember what to say.

2) Hayley explained that Josh wasn’t with them because he was busy planning his wedding. And to think they went out for a couple of years. *sigh* Perhaps that was the reason why they didn’t sing “My Heart,” my all-time favorite Paramore song, since there won’t be anyone screaming in the background.

3) Hayley called the band’s manager on stage because it was his last tour with them, and they had a picture taken with him with the crowd as the background. I guess they did that in every leg of the tour.

4) When Paramore played the intro to “Decode,” which is not really my favorite song but which I knew would probably get the most reaction from the crowd, my husband hoisted me up his shoulders so that I could see everything. It was amazing.

Here was their set list:

1. Ignorance
2. Crushcrushcrush
3. That’s What You Get
4. Looking Up
5. Careful
6. Let the Flames Begin
7. Never Let This Go
8. The Only Exception
9. Pressure
10. For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
11. Where the Lines Overlap
12. Decode
13. Misery Business
14. Brick by Boring Brick

Photo credit – Nikki Jurado