If you have not heard of Paramore yet, you are lagging behind the up and coming rock/alternative scene. With the empowering vocals of Hayley Williams and the incredible instrumentals and catchy lyrics, Paramore have exploded since their sophomore record  “Riot!” was released almost a year ago. “Misery Business” and “Crushcrushcrush” have gotten a tremendous exposure by both radio and MTV.  Now, Paramore just finished a tour co-headlining with Jimmy Eat World. Seeing the band live on their Albany stop proved one thing: Hayley Williams, Josh Farro, Zac Farro and Jeremy Davis are here to stay.

Even before Paramore took the stage after openers Dear and The Headlights, you could tell they were the crowd’s favorite. Almost every person in the pit was proudly showing his or her Paramore shirt. Girls dyed their hair fire red: William’s signature look. When Hayley came out to sing a song with Dear and the Headlights, the crowd went absolutely insane. Clearly, she is the favorite of the group.

Paramore’s set started with an incredible drum solo from Zac Farro - which led directly into “Let The Flames” begin.  This being one of my favorite songs off the new record, it was the ideal empowering anthem to give the night a perfect beginning. The song was performed with its classic live alternate ending which included an incredible guitar solo from Josh Farro and some prayer –like lyrics from Williams. From the very first song, the band proved that their music extends far beyond and surpasses the quality of their record.

Following up was “Emergency” from their debut album “All We Know Is Falling.” Even though this song was probably the one of the most famous from their first record, it was pretty tough to see most of the crowd clueless when it came to the lyrics of the song. It is a shame that people don’t really know their older stuff and are only aware of the “Riot!” songs.

Following was my all time favorite song, “Stop This Song” one of their unreleased tracks. I am so glad that they finally decided to play it live because it sounds just incredible; Josh did a great job on back up vocals. Next, another oldie was “Here We Go Again” which is also one of their best songs. Again, shame to the new Paramore fans for not knowing this song! It’s their loss. Taking a break to yell out “We Are Paramore!” the band went straight into their new single “That’s What You Get.”  I have to admit that this song sounds a bit too pop for Paramore but it sounded outstanding live.

The band followed up with their first single from their debut album “Pressure.” It was a relief to know that almost everyone knew this one. It was definitely one of the best songs of the night – very fun and energetic. I was glad Josh and Jeremy did their traditional “pressure flip.” Next was “Miracle” which was not one of my favorite songs from the new CD at first but it sounded epic live.  “For A Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic” is without a doubt one of their best live songs. The instrumentals were outstanding and Hayley’s voice was just impeccable and extremely energetic.

Slowing things down, they played a stripped version of “When It Rains” featuring Hayley in the keyboard. Paramore plays incredibly both acoustic and full band. A drum solo from Zac led into their last single “Crushcrushcrush.” The crowd went absolutely insane at this point. The song sounded absolutely amazing live. The guitar part sounds even better and Hayley somehow manages to sing all the lyrics without the help of backups from Josh. I was kind of disappointed she did not rap Flo Rida’s “Low” in the middle of the last chorus like she’s been doing this tour.

“Born for This” included a tremendous amount of crowd participation for the gang vocals. This anthem is the epitome of everything Paramore stands for. Of course, this song sounded incredibly powerful live – probably the best song of the night. Following was “Whoa.” I was incredibly pleased that they played this song. Usually, “Born For This” substitutes it. Sadly, most of the newer fans did not catch up to the fact that they were supposed to yell out “Whoa” during the chorus even after Hayley explained them to do so. Paramore closed the show with their most popular song “Misery Business.” Hearing it live proved why the guys deserved all the fame they gained from it.

I have to mention that Jimmy Eat World also puts on an incredible live performance. It was sad to see almost all of the Paramore fans leave after they were done playing. But the venue was soon filled again with exclusively hard core Jimmy fans.

Overall, Paramore puts on an incredible live show. From the synchronized head banging and Hayley’s personality in between songs, every fan of theirs must see them live at some point. I have to point out that Jeremy is extremely entertaining alongside Taylor, their unofficial 5th member.  I really enjoyed the interaction he had with his side of the crowd. I was a little disappointed with the setlist; it should have included some traditional older songs like “My Heart” or even “Hallelujah.” It was a very melancholic tour for older Paramore fans like myself. We have to accept the fact that they are gaining a lot of exposure and a newer fan base. But on the whole, it was an incredible show.