If you have teenagers, you’ve probably heard of Paramore, the young emo/rock band with a few traces of punk.

If you don’t have kids, maybe you’ve stumbled upon recent stories about the band in Blender and Spin.

In any case, know this: They’re a tight enough rock outfit that they might even still be around by the time frontwoman (girl? chick?) Hayley Williams turns 20 in December.

Williams is a feisty little thing, banging her orange and blonde-haired head relentlessly, pogoing around the stage and never losing her breath (again, she’s 19) while shouting the words to “Born For This.”

Upon her arrival on stage, she immediately had the adoration of thousands of lovesick bys and the adulation of the girls who always wanted to be rock stars.

The band’s Virgin Fest set attracted a solid, mostly teens and twentysomething crowd of at least 8 or 9,000.

Their tight, punchy rock – coated with a lot of melody – positioned them, especially Williams, as much more than a petulant Avril wannabe.
One of their recent radio hits, “That’s What You Get,” was sung as much by the audience as by Williams, while during “Fences,” she engaged the crowd to hold their arms overhead and snap for several seconds to lead into the song.

The only problem with Paramore’s songs are their tendency to sound similar. Most tunes carry a shifting rhythm – but the same shifting rhythm – and guitar riffs, while sharp, often follow the same pattern.

As if their fans care?

While Paramore was rocking one end of Pimlico Race Course, She & Him, the duo of Zooey Deschenal and M. Ward, was lulling the other side.

At first, their set was more She and Them, as the pair was joined by a three-piece band for “Keep it to Yourself,” including a female bassist and backup singer wearing identical sundresses as Deschenal’s. Theirs, though, were red, while her electric blue one seemed tailored to match her huge, beautiful eyes.

You could tell that many people sprawled on blankets near the stage were only there out of curiosity, to see if this movie actress can sing. And, she can. Most of the time.

Deschenal did sound shrill and slightly off key as she played electric piano to “Sentimental Heart.” But when the rest of the band departed and it was left to her and Ward, on electric guitar, you could hear the confidence lift in her voice.

Their lilting country pop is sweetly simple, and their harmonies effortlessly lovely. At times, Deschenal sounded like Reese Witherspoon’s version of June Carter Cash in “I Walk the Line” – and Witherspoon won an Oscar for that.

Coming up soon – supposedly – is Lil Wayne. Forget about his performance; I’m interested to see if the notoriously late rapper even shows.

 

Posted by Melissa Ruggieri in • Entertainment • Music
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