The inimitable Hayley Williams and Paramore

The release of their debut album All We Know Is Falling (2005) and sophomore effort Riot! (2008) had Paramore tangled into the whole massive pop-punk movement of Avril Lavigne's and Fall Out Boy's with marketing shenanigans geared towards people not old enough to drink. Which didn’t really do this immensely talented Tennesseeans much justice given that their tight musicality is by no means juvenile. In fact, Paramore’s Manila concert last March 9 was filled with tenfold energy, enthusiasm, and skillfulness that supported a spectacular 14-song set.

The highly charged “Ignorance,” the debut single off their current release, Brand New Eyes, made for a great, raucous start. It was followed by earlier hits “Crushcrushcrush,” “That’s What You Get,” and highlighted by Twilight’s “Decode,” which in turn got the young crowd at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds all fired up. There is a bracing and charming confidence to vocalist Hayley Williams’s performance that complemented the rest of the band’s solid instrumentalization. In a white top that said “Thrilla in Manila” and leopard print pants, the fiery-haired frontwoman even proved to be quite the entertainer, interacting with the crowd and telling little stories in between songs. On a final note, they wrapped things up with a two-song encore, “Misery Business” and “Brick By Boring Brick,” with the audience fully on their side, singing along to every word.

A lot of bands that have been cropping up these days are all about catchy, highly-produced songs, but often fall short with their live performance. It’s great that Paramore has great songs and a great live sound to back it up. There is future in music, after all.