It’s Adam 12. I gave my kid Kade a media pass and said I wanted 300+ words and a photo gallery. Here’s his Boston Calling 2023 review.
When my dad told me, way back at the beginning of the year, that we were going to see Foo Fighters and Paramore at Boston Calling, I freaked out. I was so excited to see not only Paramore, but also the legendary Dave Grohl; it seemed too good to be true. And yet, everything fell into place, and I found myself outside the gates of the Harvard Athletic Fields on Friday night. During the week leading up to the festival, I had made a playlist of songs from Foo Fighters, Paramore, Queens of the Stone Age, and the Linda Lindas – all the bands I wanted to see – based on their recent setlists, so I would know what I was walking into.
I was so hyped to see all the songs I loved on Friday, but once the band stepped onstage, I still couldn’t comprehend that I was about to see the Dave Grohl. I was so excited, and even though we were way in the back (by the trash), I still had a good view of the stage (because no one wanted to stand near the trash).
As soon as they started playing, I was jumping up and down, screaming the lyrics, and taking as many pictures as I could for this very article. The performance was fantastic, and I enjoyed every second. I cried twice: once when they played “Cold Day in the Sun” (which was Taylor Hawkins’ song, for those of you who don’t know), and then again when they brought out Shane Hawkins to play drums for “I’ll Stick Around.” Altogether, it was a spectacular show, and quite possibly the best concert I’ve ever been to!
I didn’t go on Saturday, but my friend Jon did, and he said that it was really good; he was mostly there to see Alanis Morissette. We went for almost the full day on Sunday, hitting a bunch of bands. It was a really long day since we were bouncing around a lot, but also because it was also SO HOT! For the first couple of hours, I was very lethargic, but as the day progressed, I got more and more energetic.
Read a Boston Calling 2023 Review by Adam 12’s 14-Year-Old
Our day went something like this: The Linda Lindas, then Brutus (which made my dad cry), then Sorry Mom (after which we took a break because it was so hot), then The Walkmen, then Queens of the Stone Age, then King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and then (finally) Paramore! As you can see, it was quite a long day, and we saw…So. Much. Music! It was spectacular. I got to go on a Ferris wheel for the first time ever (it was AMAZING), and I also met up with a friend during King Gizzard, and we went to Paramore together.
Speaking of, Paramore was awesome! They were five times better than I expected, and I had pretty high expectations to begin with. They played all the songs I wanted to hear, and when I say Hayley Williams is a fantastic performer, I mean she is a FANTASTIC PERFORMER. She was all over the stage, and her range is just incredible. It was just an amazing show, and an amazing day, too! The other bands we saw were great, too; the Linda Lindas were spectacular live (my mom was very excited to see them), Sorry Mom was fun to watch, and Queens of the Stone Age were tremendous as well. King Gizzard was… well, they opened with an 18-minute-long song, so I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to see anything else from them, but we were super close to the stage– cool!
Overall, I’m so glad that I got to go, and I hope we can come back again next year!
