Hellogoodbye, Metric, and Paramore came to the  Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., on a stop on the “Self-titled Tour” on Nov. 9.

Hellogoodbye, the first opening act, set the standards low for the night musically–almost none of the crowd knew of their new songs, but faces did brighten when they performed their hit single, “Here in Your Arms.” Although auto-tuned, it brought anyone who was a fan of  2000s pop alternative music a sense of recognition. On a positive note, they connected with the crowd very well, cracking jokes and mostly filling time instead of actually performing.

The second opening act, Metric, set the standards even lower than Hellogoodye. Metric was 25 minutes of overly used lights and me forgetting that I was at a concert. Their entire performance was not what I was expecting. Metric barely said anything to the crowd–they didn’t even introduce themselves. Lead singer Emily Haines reminded me  a lot of the pop singer Ke$ha, but with less catchy songs. By the end of their second song, I was getting impatient and bored waiting for Paramore.

Having my expectations shot down with the opening acts, I wasn’t  expecting a lot when the lights dimmed and Paramore entered the pavilion, but they 110 percent proved me wrong.  Starting off with a few songs of their latest album, lead singer  Hayley Williams never let her energy level fall.

The highlights of the night were when Williams and the rest of  Paramore played their classic hits such as “That’s What You Get” or “Crushcrushcrush.” There was a perfect balance of lights and performance. Even the band’s interludes “I’m Not Angry Anymore” and  “Moving On” had a fun and bubbly twist to them, compared to the other portions of their performance, probably because they were played on the ukulele.

As the band sang their single “The Only Exception,” the lights from the  Patriot Center dimmed and the crowd lit up with lights of cell phones and flashlights, illuminating the pavilion from the floor to the back row.

Although there was never a dull moment while Williams was on stage,  there were a few lowlights of their performance. During the final chorus of the song “Pressure,” William’s microphone went silent, and when the song ended and lights dimmed, fans thought the night was over and started to leave. While Williams was doing her best  to make them stay, the Patriot Center tried to fix the technical  difficulties.  While the band and audience thought that was the end of the problem, during the second chorus of the song “Part 2,” the PA system cut off in the middle of the second chorus. The effort Williams was putting in to get the music to the fans was obvious, but after about 30 seconds, the crowd started singing the lyrics for the vocally exhausted singer. Once her microphone was working, Williams said, “That’s never happened in a concert before, but it just means we’ll never forget  it!”

Paramore finally closed with their latest single, “Still into You.” Green and yellow balloons fell from the ceiling and the crowd went  wild. The song itself couldn’t have been a more accurate way to end  this concert because everyone was seriously “still into” Paramore.