1. The Opening Lineup

Cue the confetti canons because Paramore has taken the stage including founding front-woman Hayley Williams, founding drummer Zac Farro, guitarist Taylor York and their touring band. The show kicked off with “You First,” which was nearly immediately interrupted for a fan who needed assistance in the pit. Williams paused the concert, asking fans to take care of each other – a theme of the night – then asked everyone to give a thumbs up before they started again, creating a sweet moment in the massive 17,500-capacity theater. When they started again, hearing the song from their new album This Is Why was worth the wait. I’ll say this now, but it’s worth remembering throughout this review: Williams’ voice is legendary. It is something spectacular to hear it live on stage – and this was just the start. The band then played “The News,” also a new song, before switching to fan-favorite oldies “What You Get,” “Playing God” and “Caught in the Middle.”

Paramore performs at Fiserv Forum on Aug. 1; Photo by Zachary Gray

2. Milwaukee Being Named the Best of the Tour

Williams was prepared to teach fans the lyrics to the band’s 2017 hit “Rose-Colored Boy.” Turns out that wasn’t necessary, because after testing out the first two words, the screaming fans were already chanting the full verse: “Low-key, no pressure. Just hang with me and my weather.” Williams even removed her in-ear monitors to get the full effect of the crowd singing. “Best of the tour baby, best of the whole f****** tour! It was the confidence, the flavor,” she said.

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3. Williams Snagging a Pair of Heart Sunglasses from the Audience

With the audience backing Williams up, the band started jamming on “Rose-Colored Boy.” A fan tossed Williams their bedazzled heart-shaped sunglasses, which she wore for the performance of the song. This was one of many moments in the show that reminds you the audience is participating in the concert too, which often isn’t the case when acts as big as Paramore play arena tours. When the song ended, she returned the glasses to the owner.

4. Williams Questioning Time

“What is time but a construct I can’t f****** figure out?” Williams joked before the start of their next song “Running Out of Time.” The song was an especially nice match for Williams’ elaborate repertoire of dance moves, which includes a unique take on the running man. Next up: “Decode.” Williams sang, Milwaukee SCREAMED.

5. Hearing ‘Last Hope’ Performed Live

The below video from eight years ago has 66 million views, making it the band’s most popular live-performance video by a lot. The live version of this emotional banger is regarded by many fans as better than the studio mix, but fans who were there Tuesday night got to experience it truly live. The song kicks off with the heart-wrenching lyrics: “I don’t even know myself at all, I thought I would be happy, but now …” then goes on to Williams singing about a spark of hope “that’s keeping me alive.” The song has always been moving, but to hear Williams belt it out a full 10 years after its original release is something special. Her voice cuts through the crowd like a razor, leaving a lot of audience members wishing they had packed tissues.

6. The Intimate Set With the Three Paramore Members

After playing “Big Man, Little Dignity” and making the crowd hold up their pinkies and promise to vote, the true Paramore trio went up on a riser to play a couple songs. First up was “Liar” from the new album, then “Crystal Clear” from Williams’ solo album Petals for Armor. The intimate set was a reminder of this band’s chemistry, which was forged in the last two decades of playing together on and off.

Paramore performs at Fiserv Forum on Aug. 1; Photo by Zachary Gray

7. Farro Playing “Baby”

The band returned to their touring crew to play “Hard Times,” “Figure 8,” “The Only Exception” and “Crave.” Then, Farro took the main mic to play the song “Baby,” which is not a Paramore original. It comes from Farro’s other band, HalfNoise. This was a particularly fun moment, because he had packed a fan club, which he allegedly met at a bowling alley/arcade the night before. He called them his rubber duckies, because that’s the prize they won together. Lucky ducks!

8. The Trip Down Memory Lane

Williams returned to the mic and posed a question: “Does anyone want to take a trip down memory lane?” Obviously, the answer was yes, because the crowd roared. She then went on to play the band’s objectively biggest hit: “Misery Business.” It was epic.

9. Chanting for Aubree (and her Dad)

If you’ve never been to a Paramore concert, let me let you in on a wonderful tradition: Every time the band plays “Misery Business,” Williams brings a fan on stage mid-way through to sing it with her. This time she picked Aubree, a shy little girl who was attending her first-ever Paramore concert with her father. Williams got on her knees to sing with the young one, and asked Milwaukee to count them in. Then together they sang as dad recorded the moment from the stage. After the song was over, thousands of people were chanting Aubree’s name as a show of love for the brave moment.

10. An Amazing Encore

Throwback “Ain’t It Fun” concluded the concert until the encore. Williams and the crew returned to the stage to play “Still Into You” and the title track from their new album “This Is Why.” After two more high-energy performances, Williams said good night adding, “Milwaukee, we love you.” Clearly, Milwaukee loves Paramore too.