October 24, 2015
It finally happened, after being a Taylor Swift fan for
almost ten years I finally got to see her in concert. Let me just say
everything you have heard about Taylor Swift concerts are true. It wasn’t just
a concert, it was a production.
I’m not going to drone on about how much I love Taylor Swift
or how amazing she is, because you probably already know.
Shawn Mendez
We got to the Dome a little late so we missed a few of
Shawn’s songs, but we caught most of his set. It’s crazy how young he is since
he’s so talented! He’s literally the cutest thing standing up there on stage
with his guitar. His smile was huge as everyone held up their phone lights and
sang the words to his songs. Opening up for Taylor Swift is a big deal, and she
made a great choice. He has talent, heart and a bright future ahead of himself.
Vance Joy
Vance is super talented and I was really excited to see him. His stage was pretty cool, I loved his light up name that was displayed behind him. His two singles Mess Is Mine and Riptide are amazing songs, but I was super excited to hear him sing Georgia (for obvious reasons). His music is just so chill and the way he sings always seems like he's making his voice go up and down, but in a melodic way that somehow works. He was also rocking some denim on denim I think, which was wonderful.
Vance is super talented and I was really excited to see him. His stage was pretty cool, I loved his light up name that was displayed behind him. His two singles Mess Is Mine and Riptide are amazing songs, but I was super excited to hear him sing Georgia (for obvious reasons). His music is just so chill and the way he sings always seems like he's making his voice go up and down, but in a melodic way that somehow works. He was also rocking some denim on denim I think, which was wonderful.
She opened the concert by welcoming us to New York. Her outfits were perfection, disappearing
every few songs for an outfit change. She had a gang of male dancers following
her around during each song. They were obviously very talented, perhaps to
slightly distract from her dancing shortcomings. Her stage had scene changes and
the catwalk even rose up into the air for a few songs. It truly was a theatrical
production and unlike any concert I’ve ever seen.
We need to talk about the light up bracelets. Talk about
taking a concert to the next level, these bracelets lit up on cue for each of
her songs, blinking, changing colors and showing just how many people were at
that sold out concert. It was beautiful, a truly impressive display that made
you feel like you were part of the concert.
She sang almost exclusively from her 1989 album with a few
older songs thrown in here and there. I think the only ones not from her latest
album were 15, Love Story, Trouble and We Are Never Getting Back Together. I’m
not a huge fan of 15, but I will say it was beautiful watching her hover over
crowd with just an acoustic guitar. She also put a fresh spin on Trouble and
Never Getting Back Together. Her sound has changed, but she clearly wanted to
bring some of her old favorites along with her and found a beautiful way to do
it.
She has far too many songs to fit them all in one concert;
she stuck mostly to 1989 because it is her ‘new sound.’ It’s different from all
of her other albums, especially from her first few. It made sense though, her
concert is a production and it needed that cohesive sound. One of my favorite
songs she preformed was How You Get the Girl, and that’s probably one of my
least favorite songs to listen to on her album. It was amazing though, her
dress lit up and there were all these umbrellas and it just looked so cool.
One of the funniest things about her concert was when Taylor
would take these long pauses and just look out into the crowd basking in the
applause. She did it so often and her faces were just priceless. I seriously
love watching Taylor Swift just exist, she has the best reactions. My friend
Rachel and I would just look at each other and laugh.
My only complaint of the night, not that it’s even really a
complaint, was her special guest. We were in Atlanta, a city filled with
country music stars and rappers galore. There is a wealth of talent that calls
Atlanta home that she could have called on to join her on stage. Our special
guest was Tove Lo. Now I say it’s not really a complaint because I do like Tove
Lo, I have her songs and some tour dates didn’t get any special guest! I really
shouldn’t complain, but it just seems like such a wasted opportunity.
Overall, this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been
to. The large-scale production value just has no comparison. I’m used to
watching bands and singer/songwriters and country artists. They don’t have
choreographed dances, they don’t have outfit changes and they don’t have props.
Not that one way is better than the other; it’s just different concert styles
for different music genres. I had never really been to a big pop concert. It
was truly something though; Taylor Swift has earned every bit of that success.
She has that elusive intangible quality that can’t be learned. She’s Taylor
Swift, what more can I say?
xx Kristen
I know you own her new album 1989, but here are my 5
favorite songs from it:
Wildest Dreams – Taylor Swift
New Romantics – Taylor Swift
Blank Space – Taylor Swift
I Know Places – Taylor Swift
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