Community Update

On the evening of October 18th, a line of teenagers glad in band t-shirts, Converse shoes, and beanies circled around the SAP Center in downtown San Jose as far as the eye could see. The line moved foot-by-foot, but while it trudged on, excited giggles and chatter filled the air, breathing out a pocket of warm into the chill of the Friday night.

It wasn't long until the line suddenly shifted its pace and kids of all shapes and sizes and ages streamed into the glowing building. The nervous excitement was building, and before long, the venue was packed full and lights went out.

While Metric's lead singer Emily Haines danced away to the 80s new wave spirit of her band and Hellogoodbye's Forrest Kline pounded the synthesizer keys signing his indie-pop magical masterpieces, the floor was filling up to the max... But only after the lights shut down and the audience were lit up again some short time later did it feel that every single member in the crowd exploded with the delirious squeals that they've supressed all this time.

"Hey San Jose! How are you doing?!" shouted a neon orange-haired soul with her low but powerful voice, and began to strut around the stage in her black leather boots. The audience's cheer must have hit a threshold at this time, and people began jumping up and down as the music started and bursts of light in the form of lazers, projectors, and other firework-like forms filled the venue.

This spectacle of course was lead 25-year-old Haley Williams and her band Paramore, one that has returned to the capital of the Silicon Valley for yet another tour. While many remember Haley for her wild colored hair (I definitely do) and her hits that included "Decode", which was featured in the first Twilight movie back in late 2008, the young talent has taken the world by storm releasing one track after another since. The band played 18 total tracks, with an extra 3 at the encore, including "Grow Up", "Daydreaming", "Crushcrushcrush", and "Still Into You", among other favorites. Although sitting facing the stage in one of the upper back rows, I could clearly see the vibrant colors popping in and out, one after another, creating a mesmerizing light show that could be found with only a few bands, including Paramore. We head banged for a good few minutes at a time, and when Hayley made her acoustic set of "The Only Exception", darkness fell over the crowd as phones flipped open and glowed prancing around from all sides like fireflies in the night.

A night to remember, in other words.