MANILA, Philippines--Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams flung a half-filled water bottle, twice, into the audience. After receiving a homemade bracelet from a fan, she tossed it behind her like crumpled paper.

Bassist Jeremy Davis kept doing Pete Townsend-like rock-star leaps, including a semi-somersault back-to-back with rhythm guitarist Taylor York.

York himself ended the show with a roaring, if uncalled-for, drum solo, then kicked one of the high hats. The sweaty audience itself would often pogo in place or pump fists in the air; to our knowledge, no elbows or knuckles landed on a jaw here, or a tooth there.

From where we stood (this was a no-chairs rock show), that was as aggressive as it got at Paramore?s first-ever gig in the Philippines last week at the SM Mall of Asia grounds.

Sure, the band?s music?pop-punk dashed with some emo sensitivity?as in itself abrasive: buzz-saw guitars, thunderous drumming, and singing that hit a few decibels higher than a kid sister?s household screams. But for a rock concert, Paramore?s Manila gig was rather sedate.

Then again, its music is, from a critical perspective, lightweight compared to those of, say, Hole or Babes in Toyland or any post-?70s femme-fronted band whose artistry can be traced to punk.

To be fair, Paramore is no Avril Lavigne, even if the wispy, 21-year-old Williams yells and moves about like the middle child among siblings where the eldest sister is Courtney Love and the youngest sis is Punky Brewster.

The band?s ?Para-Thrilla in Manila,? as printed in scrawled font on Williams? white shirt, was the last date in a world tour primarily to plug its new album ?Brand New Eyes.? To the delight of the thousands of the mostly teenaged crowd which packed the venue, Paramore was both hits-oriented and crowd-friendly. In short, loudness aside, the band was...nice.

The 14-song set consisted of familiar material off the band?s three albums?2005?s ?All We Know is Falling,? 2007?s ?Riot!? and 2009?s ?Brand New Eyes.?

In between tunes, Williams, more sweet as pop than rough as rock, gushed at the crowd?s wild reception.

To its credit, Paramore has achieved undeniable popularity that it didn?t have to resort to name-dropping the ?Twilight? movie before dishing out ?Decode,? the 2008 song which pimped the said flick and which is many an iPod addict?s first encounter with the band. And the group does have the stamina and chops to mount a good gig.

Still, here?s hoping that, once Hayley cometh anew and the rest of the quintet make good on their we-shall-return vow to Filipinos, they would have a semblance of innovation, or at least more grit.

That would be...nice.