Paramore Live At The Andrew J Brady Music Center

My first concert post-pandemic was one I’ll never forget. Nov. 11, 2022

After a four-hour drive in the pouring rain, my boyfriend and I finally arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio. On November 11, I was finally seeing my favorite band of all time-Paramore. 

This band first introduced me to the genre of Alternative Rock. I remember being 12 or 13 years old going to the library and picking out CDs for my CD player (my only source of music at the time) and came across “Riot” which was released when I was maybe 8 years old. From then, I was hooked. I was reciting the lyrics to Monster, Fences, and When It Rains every day. Fast forward 9 years, and I’m finally getting to see them live for the first time.

Approaching the venue were two separate lines full of fans waiting to be let inside for general admission and balcony seats. As much as I’d like to be as close as possible to Hayley and the boys, I was slightly grateful I didn’t have to stand in that line in the freezing cold that long to get through the doors. This line was so long and so impactful they even got a segment on Cincinnati’s local news, WLWT, showing the dedicated fans camping out since the night before to get a good view.

This was my first time ever attending a concert by myself, so I felt a little weird not having anyone to talk to or get excited with before the show. I bought an overpriced bottle of water and sat alone while waiting for the opening act to come out. 

That night I was introduced to the beautiful soul and artist that is Ogi, a Nigerian-American singer from Wisconsin, who by the way was almost a lawyer instead of the talented singer she is today. I had first found Ogi through a random Spotify R&B playlist a few days before the show and at that time I had no clue she was opening for Paramore. Safe to say I was pleasantly surprised and amazed at her fun and energetic personality and stage presence and killer vocals that night. She performed every song from her newest EP, Monologues, which she explains to be a collection of thoughts she’s always wanted to say out loud but just kept to herself. As a shy, introvert I immediately gravitated towards Ogi, and her songwriting was extremely relatable, powerful, and fun to sing back to in a venue.

Ogi was probably the first opening act I’ve ever seen whose performance felt like a headliner. I never wanted her to leave the stage, she was incredibly welcoming and definitely got me pumped for the rest of the show. I hope and know Ogi will be recognized for her talent and I wish her a beautiful musical career because the voice she carries deserves to be heard and loved by all, simply put.

After suffering through a concert-less pandemic for several years, I was craving to be engulfed by an audience of screaming fans and gawking at one of my favorite artists so badly. It felt so foreign to feel those chills go through my body when the lights suddenly dimmed, and the instrumental of “This Is Why” began to play. I hadn’t felt that rush in what seemed like eons. Especially since I was seeing someone who I had been a fan of since middle school days; the countdown, the memorization of lyrics, the money, the four-hour trip down here, it was all worth it.

I had no one next to me during Ogi’s performance but a few minutes before the lights dimmed for Paramore, a couple of friends took their seats and I immediately felt less alone. Their energy was so infectious and just oozed “Paramore Superfans Since Early 2000s.” They knew every lyric to every song and proudly did their “ugliest dance moves” (per requested by Hayley herself who's actually not terrible at dancing despite what she says).

I had listened to the setlist a million times before but I was still amazed at the sequence of the show, it was the perfect amount of nostalgic tunes from “All We Know Is Falling”, and the records from “After Laughter.” The band sounds exactly, if not better than the studio version I’ve been hearing for over a decade, Hayley’s voice is untouchable. Truly iconic, and I think she deserves credit for being one of the best female vocalists of all time. Hitting the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the on-the-spot note changes, impressive breath control, and of course awesome dance moves-Hayley is definitely the best female artist I’ve ever seen live.

I was really appreciative of the size of the venue, it was big enough to fit thousands of people yet small enough to feel super intimate when Hayley stopped the music and just spoke with us human to human, and here I realized how funny she was. Great delivery, very silly, and very interactive with the crowd. One of my favorite moments was at the end where she explains the controversial topic of their hit song “Misery Business” which was called out for being misogynistic.

Due to the controversy Paramore stopped playing the song for years and vowed to never play it live again. However, Hayley did a great job of explaining their growth (the song was written when the band was still in high school, and most members are now in their early to mid-30s), and admits the internal misogyny she realized she had. The song does not reflect their views and morals today but it was such an iconic and important song to the history and making of the band’s success they couldn’t help but put it back on the setlist. Hayley performed every lyric of the song except “Once a whore, you’re nothing more I’m sorry that’ll never change” covering her mouth and pointing the mic towards the crowd jokingly.

But the best part of the performance of this song was the process of Hayley choosing three lucky fans from the crowd of screaming fans to come up and finish the song with her on stage. The fans jumped up, tears in their eyes, hugs going around, and prepping for the final chorus of the song. Paramore wrapped up the show with “Hard Times,” which ended with Hayley falling to the floor dramatically as confetti fell and fans poured out of the arena.

I reunited with my boyfriend outside the arena, extremely grateful to have seen my favorite band of all time at least. Cheers, to-hopefully-many more!