Paramore ends tour with explosive show in Anaheim

The 2010 Honda Civic Tour is over, but it went out with a bang Sunday night at the Honda Center. With an electrifying 18-song set, Paramore proved that it can not only headline shows in large arenas but blow the roof off, as well.

Opening the show was Kadawatha, a new band from Sweden, which performed well and injected a good amount of energy into its songs. Front man Daniel Kadawatha, however, only addressed the crowd once throughout the set, which seemed odd.

Pop-punk veteran New Found Glory went next and definitely knew how to work a crowd, even though it was not headlining. Fists flew into the air as the band members stormed the stage (after Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” blared over the speaker system) and broke into “Truck Stop Blues” off its latest record Not Without a Fight.

Nick Mindicino | Daily Trojan

Of course, the last night of any tour means one thing: pranks while bands are playing. New Found Glory had to play with a Justin Bieber music video behind it instead of its usual banner. Kadawatha got doused with water during its set by Paramore guitarist Taylor York. Fortunately, New Found Glory did not let the video of Bieber add too much of a pop slant to its set as it blazed through old and new songs alike that included “Hit or Miss” and “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down,” before closing with fan favorite “My Friends Over You.”

Tegan and Sara followed, performing their brand of folk rock well and with sincerity. Following New Found Glory, however, they seemed to deflate the energy and the two bands should have swapped spots on the bill to create a better flow. They, too, were susceptible to pranks: During their performance of “Walking with a Ghost,” other members of the tour, such as Paramore’s vocalist Hayley Williams, stampeded the stage dressed as ghosts.

After Tegan and Sara concluded their set with “Hop a Plane,” it was time to wait for the five-piece Paramore to finally take the stage. As the lights went down, a curtain dropped down in front of the stage, on which the silhouettes of Paramore appeared as the band members broke into an instrumental introduction.

Then the curtain fell and a light show began as the band members revved the crowd up with “Ignorance,” the first single from 2009’s Brand New Eyes. Williams, York, lead guitarist Josh Farro, bassist Jeremy Davis and drummer Zac Farro kept the energy as they burst into “Feeling Sorry,” during which they stopped in the bridge in order for Williams to work everyone up into a raucous frenzy.

After a powerful performance of “Decode,” the lights dimmed and Williams appeared at the side of the stage to declare that the band was about to pay homage to its hometown with a cover of a Loretta Lynn’s country song, “You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man.” Joined by Farro on acoustic guitar, they performed the touching rendition before rejoining their bandmates for an acoustic mini-set that included “When It Rains,” “Where The Lines Overlap” and “Misguided Ghosts.”

Before they played “Where the Lines Overlap,” Williams expressed Paramore’s tremendous gratitude to the fans for making the members’ career possible.

“I remember playing the Chain Reaction here in Anaheim,” Williams said. “And this place we’re in now is like 56 Chain Reactions. I never would have dreamed we’d be here, and it’s all because of you guys.”

Just because the band members indulged in some slow songs did not mean that their energy dwindled. In fact, as they broke into “Crushcrushcrush,” they began to make the show energetic once again before ending gracefully with a sparkling backdrop to the ballad “The Only Exception.”

The screams for an encore were deafening until Paramore reappeared on stage to play “Brick By Boring Brick.” Joined by various members of all the bands on tour (most notably members of Kadawatha, who began ballroom dancing), Paramore played one last song — its breakout hit, “Misery Business” — before a deluge of confetti rained down.

Paramore is a young band that has matured a lot over its six-year career, and its stage setup recalled all three of its albums. It is uncertain when Paramore will return to the L.A. area, but what is certain is that, as long as Williams remains frontman, things are only looking up from here.