On May 10, 2017, Paramore took the stage in their hometown of Nashville. After laying low for most of 2016, the band was preparing to release their newest album After Laughter only days later on May 12. They were also preparing to give the crowd at the Exit/In a little celebration.
The biggest news of the night wasn’t about what was played on stage, it was exactly who was on the stage. This show marked the live return of founding Paramore member Zac Farro on the drums. Zac had left the band in 2010 but came back in 2016 to record drums on After Laughter before being confirmed in February 2017 as once again being a full time member of the group. The hashtag #zacisback even showed up on the band’s official Twitter account.
The night would feature plenty of Paramore’s back catalog, including hits like “Brick by Boring Brick” and “Ain’t It Fun.” “Turn It Off” from the album brand new eyes even made its return to a live stage for the first time in years.
Two covers also made the cut for the show: The Strokes’ 2002 hit “Someday” was featured in the main show and then the encore kicked off with a performance of “Scooby’s in the Back” by Zac Farro’s project HalfNoise.
Of course, with a new album only days away, there were live debuts. The whole night kicked off with the live debut of the album’s lead single “Hard Times.” During the encore, the group also live debuted the second single “Told You So,” and ended the night with a second performance of “Hard Times.”
A night that celebrated music, misery underneath a pop beat and the return of an old friend. Maybe it’s not such hard times after all.
See the full setlist from that night:
