Excited was an understatement, and the anticipation was, naturally, huge as a result.
That excitement built, and got bigger, throughout a solid support slot by Glaswegian pop-folkers Martin and James’30 minute set, right up to the minute that the lights went down to signal the arrival of the country-pop songstress.
When those lights went down, I was just as excited as the hordes of screaming kids that surrounded me in the stands. Granted, she appeals to youngsters a lot, with her accessible image and songs, but for me, they can only begin to scrape the surface of her true appeal. For me, it is only the older members of the crowd that can truly appreciate what they are watching for 90 minutes tonight.
Over the course of 90 minutes, Taylor once more demonstrates how she is nothing short of a superstar, working the stage like an absolute pro, and showing all in attendance just why she must be considered amongst the upper echelon of pop stars, walking side by side with the likes of Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga. She is simply a phenomenon, and an absolute class act.
The crowd, me included, go wild the moment she hits the stage, lofted high up on a raised platform, and what follows is just a masterclass. Littering the majority of her set with choice cuts from her most recent album, there is nobody in the arena not singing their heart out, along to ever masterpiece of a song that she performs. Opening with a brilliant “Sparks Fly”, the hits just keep coming thick and fast. The opening half of the set focuses primarily on that new record, with Mine, The Story of Us, Back to December following, before the show goes up yet another notch, all within the first 30 minutes, with a staggering run through of the highlight track of her latest album, Better Than Revenge, even managing to sound more powerful (and heavier?) live, than on record, if that was even possible to start with?
It is simply a stunning performance from the start, to the finish.
Taylor ventures out into the crowd half way through to put on a show for those with the “cheap seats” at the back, performing on a miniscule stage behind the sound desk. From there, she showcases some of her tracks from her previous album “Fearless”, mixing them up by playing Fearless on a ukulele, and mixing in a little “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. The throats of the crowd only become further hoarse, as she follows that on the tiny stage with the singles Fifteen, and You Belong With Me, before returning to the main stage to finish off what is a spectacular show. Enchanted is another set highlight, with a mesmerising violin intro starting off proceedings before Taylor’s gorgeous vocals take over and soar to yet another level.
She ends the set with a staggering run through of Long Live, the final track from the album, which has a real fairytale vibe to it. The lyric “I had the time of my life, with you” being particularly poignant tonight, as it seems that both Taylor and the thousands in attendance can truly say that line, and mean it. She is so sweet to her fans, and it is endearing the way she speaks to the crowd throughout, and shows true class. She thoroughly deserves all the insane levels of success she has achieved, based purely on the ability to write some of the best songs of a generation, and to perform them live to the highest of standards.
Returning for the encore, and to continue the fairytale theme for the set closer, Love Story, Taylor has the crowd at fever pitch. She leaves in the same sort of fashion in which she arrived, to pure delirium, and is whisked away, almost by magic, by a red velvet curtain.
Personally, I could have listened to her for the rest of the night, and it would have been awesome to see more songs in the setlist, particularly from the first two albums, with songs from the debut album receiving no airplay at all this evening. However, as the tour is part of the promotional run for the third album, it makes sense to focus primarily on that album, and lets face it, that album is a stormer, so there was never going to be any complaints from me at all. But still, that is a testament as to how good she was tonight, in that I would have happily sat for another 30 minutes, hell, even for another 2 hours, if that was an option. That is also testament to her songwriting ability, in that she can afford to miss out some of the biggest and best songs she has ever written, too many to mention here in type, without the crowd so much as noticing. She is just that good, and long may her reign continue.
I for one will be waiting for her next arrival to our shores, and will be there without a doubt. The stunning performance tonight however only highlighted the fact that I simply couldn’t wait another 2 years for another show, and will therefore find myself at the Manchester MEN Arena next week (thank you pay day!) to watch the show again. Sure, I may be stuck in the nose-bleeders, but when a performance is this HUGE, it doesn’t matter where you are, just that you are able, and privileged enough, to witness it.
I, once again, cannot wait . . .even if it does mean dealing with more kids that I care to think again!
A true superstar, and a class act.
Simply breathtaking.
Setlist: Sparks Fly/Mine/The Story Of Us/Back To December (incl One Republic - Apologise/You’re Not Sorry sections)/Better Than Revenge/Speak Now/Fearless (incl I’mYours section)/Fifteen/You Belong With Me/Dear John/Enchanted (w/violin intro)/Long Live/Love Story
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