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Taylor Swift Speak Now World Tour…A Fans Perspective

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Last night was the culmination of almost a year in the making.  I remember the excitement when I first heard the announcement that Taylor Swift would be coming back to Staples Center to do another tour, Speak Now World Tour.  Finally I would get my chance to see her live!  I was admittedly more excited back then and the excitement tapered off…

I didn’t know what to expect as I walked in and sat down.  This being my first big concert experience, there was definitely more of an audience to the female teen crowd but there were also the scattered male counterparts as well as females of other ages.  I saw self made signs and lights from all parts of the venue.  I also learned something new, I had no idea what the “13″ meant from Taylors perspective so I asked the nice lady next to me and she explained that it was her lucky number.  I’m going to dedicate this line to her and say that she was a pleasure to talk to, and wish I had caught her name.

After a pair of opening acts, by Josh Kelley and Need To Breathe, and a brief stage set up behind the curtain, the lights dimmed.  Audio plays and a text montage appears on the monitors, she rose up from center stage and the excitement had returned!  You could hear all the screams from albeit mostly female teenagers with probably their moms enticed by their kids.  That didn’t bother me, I was way too excited to finally see her live.  She started with “Sparks Fly”, one of her hits from her Speak Now album that was released in October of 2010.  Once the intro song completed, she welcomed the crowd and thanked them for spending the evening with her even though there were plenty of other things to do.

As the concert proceeded, she continued on to sing a total of about 16 songs from her latest album Speak Now as well as her previous album, Fearless.  I had read on the internet Taylor would be doing covers from “local bands” at the venues she would be playing, after reading this I was definitely excited to see who she would choose to cover.  The covers were of Jason Mraz with “I’m Yours”, Beach Boys with “God Only Knows” and Gwen Stefani with “Sweet Escape”.  In my opinion, she definitely came through with the covers with her added touch.  She also added a small bit from One Republic in one of her songs “Back To December” which was a nice addition.

Apparently the biggest highlight, judging by the crowd volume, was when Justin Bieber was introduced to sing a duet of “Baby” with Taylor.  I’m honestly going to say I am not a Bieber fan but there was definitely a crowd for him there.  The moment he was introduced, my ears started piercing from all the screams of teenage excitement.

After her set of 20 songs, she concluded with “Love Story” while introducing her stage / band members and a final bow.   As the curtains went down the audience cheered, or I should say screamed, and applauded.  At that moment, I was excited, yet sad.  I truly did not want the concert to end.  From start to finish, she delivered.  I came in as a fan and came out as a an even greater fan.

 

You can contact Samuel Tjuatja, the author of this post, at sam@wu-e.com

How to Survive a Taylor Swift “Speak Now” Concert

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I just got back from a Taylor Swift concert at the Staples Center. I didn’t actually plan on going but decided to support a friend who’s friends turned out to be flakier than me. Here are a few tips you should know if you’re going to a Taylor Swift show

Take care of your body

Get off work early. The earlier you get there, the more time you have to comfortably enjoy a meal. Grab a $5 foot long sandwich from Subway and load it with veggies. You’ll be standing on your feet for 3+ hours so eating right before the show will ensure you have the energy just in case you get too comfortable and decide to rest during one of her outfit changes. Buy a Frappuccino. You’ve probably lost sleep the night before wondering what tracks she’ll play and in what order. Also stretch. You wouldn’t want to hurt your neck while tracking Taylor Swift as she’s floating around on a 3’x3′ platform for her closing song.

Understand the audience

Remember age is just a number. The tween with braces who’s accompanied with her parents, the 3 bros that are wearing matching shirts with custom messages declaring their love for Taylor Swift, the recent MBA graduate who decided that separate seats from her friends wasn’t a deal breaker: they’re all like you. You all understand the emotions of longing and heartache.

Do mark your skin or clothing with “13”. Every TRUE Taylor Swift fan will have this emblem stamped on their body somewhere. If you don’t have one, you’re obviously seeing her for the first time and not going to be singing along to songs that weren’t aired on the radio.

Don’t forget that declaring your love for Taylor Swift is most effective when done in high volume (quantity and decibel). The chances of her hearing your distinct message from hundreds of feet away are certainly much more slim if you’re doing it alone. Go with a group who understands this or join another group.

Covers

Study the lyrics to songs she’ll cover: Gwen Stefani – Sweet Escape, Justin Bieber – Baby, The Beach Boys – God Only Knows. When she does these songs, you want to look like a cultured fan who knows her range. Singing along to covers will definitely give you the necessary credibility to talk to  fellow fans at the show. When Justin Bieber shows up on stage, don’t be offended. You can’t like one and hate the other. Trust me, Bieber fans definitely hope Taylor Swift makes a cameo at the next show they go to.

Understand the career path of a pop artist

Haters  always go “Dude. I hate that she’s so popular now. These $30 Ticketmaster fees suck!”. Taylor Swift blew up, deal with it. Do you honestly think that her talents should be limited to a small corner in a coffee shop? Of course not! Her lyrics can only be realized through the magic of theatrics, giant high definition monitors, pyrotechnics, dancers, and moving platforms.

Charge your phone/camera battery

This one is a no-brainer. You’re not a true fan unless you post status updates/tweet about what songs Taylor Swift is singing so all your closet fan friends can feel like they’re there with you. Network coverage will be sparse, so be sure to post carefully and not waste everyone’s time with messages like “Taylor Swift looks soooo good in purple and a ponytail”. When that exclusive live cover happens, you’ll have two options: call your good friend who will appreciate hearing it over a cell phone the most or be the quickest to alert all your social network friends. No one wants to be the last to break news like “Dude, she just mixed in a little Mraz into one of her songs”.

Prepare a defense

You will undoubtedly shock some friends. When they ask you how much you paid and why you went to a Taylor Swift concert if it wasn’t a date, just respond: “Whatever. I wanted to diversify my musical taste. Plus, she’s really great live! I listened to the album and she’s DEFINITELY better live. Oh… She also plays guitar AND piano. That means she’s a true musician” Remind them you were the first in your group to listen to dub-step, loved the Black Eyed Peas when they were just 3 dudes, and were listening to Arcade Fire before they garnered critical acclaim and awards.