Paramore at Madison Square Garden
Paramore at Madison Square Garden (photo by Amanda M Hatfield)

Paramore were electric at Madison Square Garden w/ Bloc Party & Genesis Owusu (night 1 pics)

After stopping in NJ on Saturday to headline day one of Adjacent and heading up to Boston on Sunday to close out day three of Boston Calling, Paramore returned to the NYC-area for their first of two nights headlining Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (5/30). They started the night off with bang, firing off confetti cannons during the night’s first song, “You First,” and continued lighting up the stage with pyro during multiple songs. They hardly need the effects, as Hayley Williams is a human firecracker herself, constantly in motion whether it’s jumping, dancing, or doing high kicks. Her voice sounded fantastic as she led the band through a setlist that expanded a bit on the tracks they’ve been playing at festivals — it included all the hits you’d want to hear, including “That’s What You Get,” “Misery Business” (which she brought a fan out to sing on), “The Only Exception,” and plenty of songs from their great new album This Is Why and 2007’s career-best After Laughter. They also did a couple of songs from a small elevated “b-stage,” This Is Why track “Liar,” and one of Hayley’s songs from her 2020 solo debut Petals for Armor, “Crystal Clear,” which she dedicated to her grandparents.

Towards the end of the show, drummer Zac Farro led the band in a song from his HalfNoise project, “Baby,” but before that, Paramore restarted “Figure 8” after Hayley called out an apparent fight in the crowd. “Yes,” she said, “I will embarrass both of you. Both of you need to find somewhere else to take care of that shit because that’s not happening here.” The set was full of good vibes aside from that incident, though, and Hayley expressed her appreciation to fans for sticking with her and the band, saying, “thank you for letting us grow up in front of you, alongside you, thank you for letting us try shit.”

Bloc Party played before Paramore with a set that pulled from throughout their discography, including “Banquet” and “Helicopter” from Silent Alarm and four songs from their most recent album, last year’s Alpha Games. See their setlist, and Paramore’s, below.

Genesis Owusu kicked things off in grand fashion, delivering a memorable set that made instant fans of the crowd who got there in time to see him. He and his dancers commanded the stage as they played songs from his new album STRUGGLER. He’ll also be back in NYC to headline Elsewhere Hall on October 20.

See pictures of all three bands, and attendee-taken video, below.

SETLIST: PARAMORE @ MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 5/30/2023
You First
The News
That’s What You Get
Playing God
Caught in the Middle
Rose-Colored Boy
Running Out of Time
Decode
Last Hope
Big Man, Little Dignity

B-Stage
Liar
Crystal Clear (Hayley Williams solo song)

A-Stage
Hard Times
Told You So
Figure 8
The Only Exception
Baby (HalfNoise)
Crave
Misery Business
Ain’t It Fun

Encore:
Still Into You
This Is Why

SETLIST: BLOC PARTY @ MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 5/30/2023
In Situ
You Should Know the Truth
Hunting for Witches
Rough Justice
High Life
Song for Clay (Disappear Here)
Banquet
Traps
Blue
Helicopter
Ratchet