Kerrang! hail Paramore as the saviours of rock, and upon arriving at The Cockpit today, it’s obvious how much control Kerrang! and such publications have over who does what in the music industry. This is pretty much the biggest queue I’ve seen waiting to get into The Cockpit, and I’m fairly sure that a few hundred of them wouldn’t fit in to the 500-capacity sold out venue.
The punters fall in through the doors just in time for one of those bands that really should be where Paramore are tonight if there’s any justice left in the world. Southern rockers theriverclub open up with ‘My Girl…’ and play through the majority of their debut EP, and two more, very promising new ones. They’re not setting the world alight with something new, but what they do is do it well, and tonight’s performance should win them a few more fans. (7)
At the time that Madina Lake take to the stage, I’m not in the room, but they come out all guns blazing, and from the merch desk, it sounds as though the capacity crowd are coming off their every word. Unfortunately, my view from the other room is that they’re a bit bobbins, and my time would be better spent discussing the tour with theriverclub.
Fighting an urge to leave, I stuck around for Paramore. The crowd’s excited for their new favourite pin-up, and the screams are rather loud as Hayley struts onto the stage wearing a ‘Paramore is a BAND’ t-shirt. Unfortunately, tonight’s performance does little for me, as the ‘hits’ from the album are far too early in the set, and the filler to the album doesn’t come across as strong live at all. With all the extended insrumentation it’s obvious that they can’t fill a headline slot, as 9 songs do just about enough to fill 40 minutes. As far as they go as a live band, they’re not bad, but the song quality just doesn’t back up the stageshow. (6)
Dave