The night I got notified that I was getting the opportunity to see the Honda Civic Tour, I was ecstatic. The lineup looked extremely star-studded: Paramore, Tegan & Sara, and New Found Glory. I haven’t seen any of these bands perform with the slight exception of New Found Glory, whom I watched from afar a year or two ago when they were traveling with the Warped Tour. With the way my night started, I was afraid that the rest of the night would go horribly. Luckily for me, these bands did not let me or the rest of the packed stadium see a dull moment.
When I arrived at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, I was a little rushed to get into the arena and catch the opening act. So once I was in the building, I quickly dropped my backpack and changed my lenses, hoping to get some good shots of the opener, Kadawatha. Kadawatha is a Belgian band that I knew nothing about before the concert. Their music is similar to Anberlin but a little more mellow and electronic sounding. Unfortunately, I was only able to hear the first three songs because of some issues I encountered, but from those three songs I felt Kadawatha performed well but didn’t have high enough energy, so the crowd was a little dull and unenthusiastic. But fortunately for the crowd, next up on the roster was punk band New Found Glory.
I remember when I first watched the video for “All Downhill From Here” about five years ago for the first time. I instantly loved the song but soon forgot about New Found Glory. Years later, I was reunited with them when I received Coming Home for Christmas. Once more, I fell in love with New Found Glory and kept their CD at my side for weeks on end. So, hearing that New Found Glory was on the tour AND I could actually hear them play a whole set, naturally I was excited. Right off the bat, they all began to jump around and the crowd instantly did the same. Only one song into their set, they started to play “All Downhill From Here” and the crowd began singing along. I look into the stands and saw people scattered here and there, standing up and dancing while singing the words enthusiastically. I then looked up at the band’s faces from the pit and could see how much they enjoyed playing and getting the crowd involved. After I was done taking photos from the pit, I walked into the crowd on the main floor, hoping to better see the crowd’s reaction to the band. NFG played a rendition of “Kiss Me” and later played “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down.” Throughout their entire set, they got the crowd involved by clapping, fist pumping, even doing the wave across the whole stadium. The lead singer, Jordan Pundik, even asked for the fans to give those that were crushed up against the barrier some breathing room. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the crowd that could tell New Found Glory was a band that loves performing and is very compassionate towards their fans. By the time the last few songs were playing, I looked up into the stands once more and saw almost double the amount of people standing up and dancing. New Found Glory played an amazing set that definitely gained them more credit among the fans that were there solely to see Paramore. Following New Found Glory’s set were the Candian twin sisters, Tegan and Sara.
I have been a fan of Tegan and Sara since The Con was released. That isn’t a long time, compared to most of their die hard fans. Nonetheless, I was anxiously waiting for Tegan and Sara’s set, hoping I would hear all the fan favorites such as “Nineteen,” “Hell,” “Alligator,” etc. I heard the crowd roar and turn to look up on the stage to see Tegan and Sara standing right in front of me. Several songs into their set, they play “The Con,” “Walking with the Ghost,” “Hell,” and “On Directing.” Before they played “Alligator” they showed the crowd their special dance to the song, which consisted of swaying from side to side. Like they said, it wasn’t difficult to do. After that, they played several more crowd pleasers such as: “Back in Your Head,” “Nineteen,” and “Northshore.” Towards the end, they expressed their gratuity for the fans and explained that their 30th birthday was coming up and all they wanted was for the crowd to enjoy their last song. The security guard beside me leans over and says “I thought they were about 19!”
Throughout the whole entire set, I saw fans singing along and dancing. I guess I was wrong when I initially thought about 75% of the people in the HP were there to just see Paramore. From the looks of the crowd, there were plenty of hardcore Tegan and Sara fans that knew all the lyrics and couldn’t help but get excited when they played “Speak Slow” or “So Jealous.” Tegan and Sara bring so much charisma to the stage and I recommend that you see these talented twins play live. Last up to play, and whom a lot of people had been waiting for all night to see (according to all the t-shirts), was Paramore.
Before Paramore went on stage, this huge black curtain/cloth comes down from the ceiling and covers the entire stage. All of a sudden, I heard music and saw an outline of the tiny Hayley Williams in front of me, tapping her foot and swaying from side to side. The tension builds in the crowd and suddenly the curtain is let down and Paramore begins to play their first single off Brand New Eyes, “Ignorance”. The crowd immediately starts bouncing around and shouting the words. Hayley commands the crowd and leads them through “That’s What You Get,” “Emergency,” and “Playing God.” At one point during “Careful,” Hayley points at the crowd and they begin clapping without any hesitation. Even to their lesser-known songs off Brand New Eyes, you would still be able to hear the lyrics being sang by the crowd, loud and clear. The stadium was certainly full of devoted Paramore fans. After singing “Decode,” Hayley dedicates the next song to their hometown of Nashville, TN. She begins to sing a cover of Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).” I normally hate country with a passion (sorry to all those country fans reading this) but her version of the song was fantastic. She made me want to listen to the orignal of the song and possibly give country music a second chance.
After Hayley’s cover song, Paramore plays acoustic sets of “When It Rains,” “Where the Lines Overlap,” and “Misguided Ghosts.” To get the crowd’s energy level up once more, they start to play “Crushcrushcrush” and then “Pressure” which Hayley makes sure everyone is standing for. Right about then I was wondering when they would play their current single, “The Only Exception.” And next thing I know, they close the show with it. The last minute of the song, sparks begin to rain down behind them. It was the perfect way to end the concert. After only minutes from walking off the stage, they walk back on and play an encore that consists of “Brick By Boring Brick” and “Misery Business.” An even better way to end the show. Paramore really outdid themselves with the theatrics and the energy was flowing throughout the whole stadium. I don’t even see how anyone could have sat down through that hour and half set of pure excitement. Paramore put the cherry on top of my sundae for the Honda Civic Tour. If I could go back and relive the night, even the struggles I had, I would. In the end, that concert was worth every second of stress and worry I had. I don’t know how the Honda Civic Tour will be able to top this lineup next year, I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
Fantastic photos!!! The review and photos by Summer Dos Santos made me feel like I saw the concert. Expressing her personal experience and emotions allowed me to see this show vicariously through her eyes. I look forward to reading future reviews from Summer Dos Santos!