Seriously…where do I begin? Well, after the soy milk debacle and taking a ridiculous detour to get to the Air Canada Centre we arrived about half an hour later than the listed start time. Getting through security was a little bit interesting. My friend’s camera got confiscated, but you’d expect that if you drag in a big honkin’ SLR to the show, right? When we got to our seat Bedouin Soundclash had already come and gone, which I kind of regret because I enjoyed Street Gospels. Third-hand accounts though seemed to indicate that they left something to be desired. Too bad. Our seats were located at the side of the stage. From our vantage point it was easy to tell that we wouldn’t get a completely clear view of Paramore. There was a black curtain kind of obscuring about 15% of the stage. Thing is, we could see that behind the curtain was most definitely No Doubt’s set. We knew that once the curtain came down we’d have very decent seats.

It wasn’t long after we arrived that Paramore came on stage. I have a copy of their CD Riot!, and it’s been on my iPod for a while. So, I have a good sense of what their sound was like. I figured it was a good match for No Doubt because of that whole female-fronted band thing. When they came out one of my first thoughts was about how young Hayley looked. When they started playing, I immediately felt that they were totally a cohesive unit. There were many moments where they were jumping or head banging in unison. They put in a great set with a decent amount of energy. Almost everything came off of Riot! with a few songs from their new album. I can see how most of their songs could be a bit of a blur where they sound very alike. However, since I was familiar with most of the set it wasn’t bad at all. Familiarity has that effect doesn’t it? Now, due to my ridiculously limited concert experience the only immediate comparison I could make was to seeing Avril from 5 years ago. I felt that there was a huge difference. God. While they both seemed young, there was something a hell of a lot more respectable about Paramore. I don’t know…it’s something hard to qualify.

I sat down for most of their set with me bobbing my head to the beats now and then. They did get me out of my seat at their request at one point but as soon as the song was done most of us were back down. Most of the crowd was really there for No Doubt. It was a valiant effort, but…I guess it was to be expected. No matter what, I think they did a very respectable job at getting people a bit warmed up.

As soon as they finished, the crew was out there prepping everything. The coverings were slowly peeled back or added and before you knew it the stage was stark white. The seats in the arena were filling up fast. The crowd was buzzing with anticipation. Then…darkness, and the roar of the crowd filled the place as a white curtain came down. Projected on the curtain were the shadows of the band members. Aaaaaand then down it came and the band began. They started out with Spiderwebs. It was loud and raucous, and oh so very magical. From that point forward I did not sit back down. I was there bouncing and waving my arms with everyone.

Now, back in the late 90′s and early 00′s I was sort of familiar with their music, but didn’t follow them all that much. I think I was just too immersed in my studies to really pay much attention to music. It really wasn’t until I picked up the compilation The Singles 1992–2003 that I became a fan. I realized that, God, they had a lot of strong singles. This concert has reinforced the fact that, yeah, I really like this band. I’m happy to see them back. I mean, we went to see Gwen’s solo stint two years ago in the same building. As much as she put on a good show, thinking back I almost think there was a missing dimension to the whole experience. Seeing her again this time around with the guys is just so different. It’s like the whole family is back together–she was back with her brothers. They were feeding off of each other’s energy. There was a level of true confidence there that I just didn’t get from her solo show. There was a level of joy there that was palpable. During a costume change, I saw Kingston and Zuma being carried by nannies at the side of the stage waving at everyone in the band. So cute!

There was no point in the show where I felt there was a lull. Just about everything was familiar and full of energy. If I said Paramore had a high energy set, No Doubt just about blew the roof off of the place. I have never cheered so loudly for a group before. Holy crap. See, back then when we were still considering whether we wanted tickets, we were kind of questioning whether we were willing to shell out the big bucks for “limited view” seats. Coming out of it there was absolutely “No Doubt” (sorry, that was bound to happen) that it was worth every single dollar. Heck, even though were were at the side they all knew how to work the stage. They frequently came over to make sure we saw them. I didn’t feel like I missed anything at all. Love, love, love. Next time they’re in town I have to see them again. YES.