“No matter how hard it is to get out of the house, I always feel better going to a show.” Halfway through her set on Tuesday, April 21, Hayley Williams shared this thought with a sold out crowd at Chicago’s Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom. On the day of my 19th birthday, I echoed her sentiment. Getting to Chicago from Beloit was a tall order for me, but the show made it absolutely worth it.
When I was 15, I attended my first concert, and I instantly fell in love with live music as a whole. The experience made it all the more special; I paid for my own ticket with money from my first job, I crocheted my own top for the occasion, and I got to do something special to be shared between just my dad and me. That night made me feel like I was part of something bigger than myself. I was in a space full of people who were all there for the same reason: we loved music, and particularly, we loved the artist that was performing. How fitting, then, that I attended my 15th concert on my 19th birthday to feel that same thing again.
Williams rose to fame as a founding member and the primary vocalist of pop rock band Paramore in the mid-2000s, when she was still a teenager herself. Now 37, she is touring her third solo project, “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” which dropped primarily as a surprise release of 17 singles last July before they were consolidated with three final tracks.
“Ego Death” is a cathartic work for Williams herself, with lyrics like “in the wake of your sunshine, I’ve never felt so glum” and “who knew the hard times were the good ol’ days” alluding to a brutal breakup; at the same time, it’s a project for the people, with its initial method of release allowing listeners to intentionally organize all 17 singles into their own album order. All things considered, Ego Death is not necessarily an album, but rather a collection of Williams’ latest work — and what brilliant work it is.
The concert setlist included all 20 songs of Ego Death in yet another new order and a shortened cover of Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” My personal favorites from the project include “Glum,” “Love Me Different,” and “Parachute,” although picking just those three was difficult. The whole collection is brilliant, and each song speaks to everyone differently. Everyone around us in the crowd seemed to have a different favorite from each other.
Since the early days of Paramore, Williams has long been heralded as one of the best vocalists of her generation. This performance was no exception, as she showcased remarkable vocal and emotional range from the opening number, “Mirtazapine,” a shoegaze-inspired alt rock number, through the quietly heartbreaking “Blood Bros,” and beyond. Nearly every song sounded exactly like the studio recording, a testament to Williams’ vocal consistency, her studio production team, the band she performed with, and her live sound engineers.
As the performer shared her love of live music with the crowd, she also lamented how difficult it can be to get to shows these days. In her words, “It’s a crime how hard and inaccessible live music has become… This is not a luxurious thing, it’s a human thing.” This also felt particularly poignant, as my car-less roommate and I spent a total of six hours and $200 round trip traveling to the concert and back. Would I still say it was worth it? Absolutely!
The concert particularly showcased themes of moving on from heartbreak and trying to stay happy and healthy in the world we face today. It was a great reminder for me that there is community out there everywhere you look, even though it often feels easier to shut myself in my dorm room and cry thinking about the way things used to be. This year has already been super difficult, but music has always been the best way for me to process my emotions, so I’ll conclude with the words of Hayley Williams herself: “We are trying to learn to love ourselves better!”
Featured image: Norah Owens’29
Leave a Reply