Something like a crisis, a quarter life gone by

I accidentally posted this yesterday when I was saving a draft, so I apologize if you receive duplicate notifications.

It’s August, which means it’s time for my traditional second Paradise Fears show of the year (the first being back in February).

I don’t remember the name of the person who opened, mainly because he mumbled a lot and I couldn’t quite understand him. But it didn’t really matter because William Beckett was up next.

I’ve been meaning to do a WB Music Monday post but haven’t gotten around to it yet. He was the singer for The Academy Is… who I loved (and still love). He’s always been one of my favourite singer-songwriters and his live performances are always entertaining: even though it’s literally just him, a guitar, and his laptop (or “band in a box” as he calls it). A highlight of his set was when Sam and Michael (from Paradise Fears) joined him on stage for a new song.

Just putting it out there: William instagramed this shot which was taken by my good friend, Jane. 

Next was Against the Current. I’ve never heard of them before, so I was surprised to find out they had a female singer. Their songs were quite catchy and I’ll probably look them up (eventually). They – rather boldly – covered “Chocolate” by The 1975; while they made an admirable effort, I feel like that’s a song that’s uncoverable – you can try, but you can never quite mimic Matt Healy’s way of slurring the words together (but maybe I’m just biased). They did an excellent job covering Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun”, though.

Finally, the moment I was waiting for: Paradise Fears.

As I tweeted yesterday, I could see them live a thousand times, and I’d still be awed. They are incredibly talented and their live show has only gotten tighter in the past few years (take it from someone who’s seen them 7 times as openers and headliners).

They put so much passion, energy, and enthusiasm into their live shows and it’s amazing to watch. They’ve always been good performers, but each time I see them, they seem to take it up a notch and just keep on improving.

The setlist was one of the best (though I think I say that after ever PF show): old songs and new, including my current obsession “You To Believe In”:

They haven’t released the official video yet, but I like how Sam makes the others start clapping. An acoustic performance like this also shows their raw talent.

Aside from three new songs – “You To Believe In”, “Color” (which has a Jack’s Mannequin vibe to it and I mean that in the best way possible), and “Reunion” (a song so new, I’ve never heard it until now – plus it featured Sam solo on the piano which was wonderful) – they played quite a bit from 2011’s Yours Truly, and, of course, a lot off of 2013’s Battle Scars. They also did two covers: Macklemore’s “Same Love” and Charli XCX’s “Boom Clap”. Both are songs that I had never heard before PF released covers, so I automatically prefer them to the originals.

There’s no video for their “Boom Clap” cover either, except for their tour trailer.

Before the show, I had meet & greet, and the guys were as sweet and welcoming as they always are. They took pictures and stood around for an hour listening to fans; Jordan, Sam, and Cole also did an acoustic version of one of their first songs, “Fall On Me”, which was beautiful. Another fan had made hearts with the band members’ names on it and was handing them out, asking people to hold them up during “Battle Scars”. It was a heart-lifting (no pun intended) moment, especially seeing the looks on the guys’ faces when they saw the crowd.

This picture was also taken by Jane. Look at how big Sam’s smile is!

Sidenote: Since I haven’t mentioned her before, you might has guessed that this was the first time Jane came to a show with me. I introduced her to PF about 2-3 months ago (when I was wearing my “Battle Scars” t-shirt and she asked where it was from), and, being a long-time WB fan, she decided on a whim to join me at last night’s show. I’m happy to say that she – in her own words – is now a “Paradise Fears convert”.