Review Taylor Swift – Manchester M.E.N Arena – Tuesday 29th March 2011

The biggest credit that I can give to this girl is that within hours of seeing her put on such a brilliant show last in Birmingham at the LG Arena, I had decided that I HAD to go and see her again this week. Knowing that the Manchester date was a full 7 days after, coupled in with the fact that a payday hit on 28th of the month, meant that this was another no-brainer. I simply HAD to be here tonight, and wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Having worked out that the show wasn’t sold out, I ventured down to the gig after work, intent on getting a “nose-bleeder” seat from the box office. That is not something I would ever do normally, and that is a genuine exception for me when it comes to gig-going. There are not many acts in the world where I would subject myself to the “vertigo-inducing” crazy MEN upper tier.

Hell, I even had my binoculars with me, so that I could at least see something.

In the end, I didn’t need them. On my walk up to the box office, a tout offered me an upper tier ticket for £15. I planned on trying my luck at the box office to see if I could get a lower tier seat, and within seconds, the touts mate offered me a lower tier seat for £20. Considering face value was around £40 inclusive of fees, I was pretty happy at that, so managed to get lower tier for half of what it would have cost me for upper tier seats. When I got in to the venue, I was beyond happy to find that my seat was five rows from the front of lower tier, and right by the stage. Even if I had bought tickets online when they were released, I couldn’t have got a seat this good, and this close.

Jackpot.

I could once more wax lyrical about Taylor Swift and her genius, but tonight was once again just another masterclass in how to put on a show. She has songs that are utterly stunning across the board, and the phenomenal new material goes down really well once again tonight. Opener Sparks Fly sounds huge, as does the rockier cuts from Speak Now, such as The Story of Us, and Better Than Revenge. The more I listen to the latter, the more I am convinced that it is just not one of the best songs written over the last five years, but one of the best songs of all time. Essential is just not the word for songs such as this. As with the Birmingham show, other highlights for me included Back To December, Long Live, Love Story and the spine-tingling, goosebump inducing run through of Enchanted tonight. Start off with a majestic and beautiful extended violin intro, Taylor’s voice soars over the chorus, and is a genuinely “special” moment to behold.

As with the majority of the show itself, it was unforgettable.

Much like the Funeral For A Friend show I went to the night before, this was a carbon copy of the set I saw last week, and not once did that hinder my enjoyment of the spectacle. That is at the root of her brilliance, in that nothing you listen to of hers ever gets old, and if I could afford it, I would gladly get on the train and go and watch that same show again in London tonight (30/3).

She is the perfect show(wo)man and knows the way to get the best out of the crowd at every point of the show. Whether she is melting hearts with the stories behind her incredibly personal songs, or baying the crowd to sing her songs at the top of their lungs back to her, she is completely captivating, and a real class act. For the 90 minutes she is on the arena stage tonight, she OWNS the stage, and you just cannot take your eyes of her – she is not only stunning, but in possession of insane amounts of talent. Tonight’s show not only sees her dance on the faster numbers, but play guitar (electric and acoustic), ukulele, and piano. You get the feeling that no matter what instrument she was dealt with, she could play it at all frighteningly competent level. Seeing her rock out was also an immense pleasure, and her headbanging moments and throwing of the “metal” horns was inspired. I too battled to stop the old headbang on a couple of occasions, knowing that the kids to my right would probably not appreciate it too much (lol).

She is raw talent, and is genuinely one of the best musicians around today. Her songwriting genius is second to none, and her albums are wonderful listens. To make me NEED to see her twice in a week is a special talent, as that is not something I would do for every act/band I go to see.

Taylor Swift is one of a kind, and although she may appeal to the teen girl demographic and a lot of children, her abilities transcend any level of scorn that idiots may place on her. She not only does that, but she transcends genres, and music this good, cannot be pigeon-holed of boxed up. It is special, and it is life-affirming. She is a phenomenal performer, and tonight only compounds and rams that fact home once again.

The thousands in attendance are captivated by her every word, and the knowing looks she gives to the crowd continuously throughout are something intimately special. Alongside all of that, she also comes across as immensely humble and lovable which is refreshing, considering the insane levels of commercial success she attracts.

At one points she tells the crowd how lucky she feels to be in Manchester once again, in front of the crowd before her (clearly reminiscing on her show back here in 2009 which was off the charts in terms of spectacle). That is incredibly sweet, and couldn’t come across as any more genuine. What she forgets though, is that it is US who are the lucky ones tonight, being graced by her perfection, and her brilliance.

Long live Taylor Swift, and I will be there again, when she makes her long-awaited return. I am already counting down the days. That is pure talent; that is brilliant songwriting; and that is brilliant performance all at its absolute best.

A lot of people could learn a thing or two from this Nashville girl.

Immense.

Setlist: Sparks Fly/Mine/The Story of Us/Back To December/Better Than Revenge/Speak Now/Fearless/Fifteen/You Belong With Me/Dear John/Enchanted/Long Live/Love Story