Hot Ticket: Taylor Swift
(Aug. 14th & 15th) The 1989 World Tour blew through the San Francisco Bay Area with two back-to-back sold-out shows at LEVI’s Stadium (the LEVIathan) in Santa Clara, California.
Shawn Mendes opened Saturday evening’s show with a light acoustic set featuring his recent hits: I Don’t Even Know Your Name, Life Of The Party, Something Big, Kid In Love, Stitches, and covered Ed Sheeran’s Lose Yourself.
The Australian pop band, Vance Joy, followed with songs from their 2014 debut album, Dream Your Life Away. Georgia, Mess Is Mine, Fire and the Flood, his 2013 hit – Riptide – and a cover of Sam Smith’s Stay With Me.
A broad spectrum audience filled the stadium seating areas. Yes, there were quite a few young girls who were ecstatic to see one of their idols on stage…but there were a good number of boys too and adults of both genders. We even spotted a couple of “Swifties” (single, adult males carrying signs proclaiming their adoration for the artist as they swayed to the music and sang along).
Ms. Swift opened her part of the show with songs from her most recent album, 1989. Welcome to New York, Blank Space and I Know Places all played to great audience responses. She also sang I Knew You Were Trouble and Stay Stay Stay from her Red album.
Legendary singer/songwriter Joan Baez and Academy Award winning actress Julia Roberts joined Taylor on stage for some free-form dancing while she sang her current hit, Style.
Taylor joined new artists Little Mix for a rendition of their hit song Black Magic and Never Grow Up (from Taylor’s 2010 album, Speak Now).
Her emotional performance ended with Bad Blood (from 1989), We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (from Red) and Shake It Off (from 1989).
Taylor thanked those in the audience who worked in the tech industry who make it possible to be closer to her fans with innovative technology. She also spoke to girls about her own struggles and encouraged them to be their unique selves.
Reflections
It is rare that we read press coverage from others whose skill with language perfectly captures what we want to say, but a portion of Ms. Emma Silvers’ review (at http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2015/08/17/live-review-taylor-swift-regular-super-normal-girl-like-you-and-me-at-levis-stadium/ ) is worth repeating here:
I like a lot of Taylor Swift’s music and I find her fascinating as a phenomenon, I should say upfront. But the thing I did not comprehend until I saw Taylor Swift in a glittery blue two-piece, perched atop a runway that had morphed into a giant swinging crane, maneuvering over a crowd of 50,000 screaming fans who all paid $150 to $1500 to be there and begging them to believe that no really, I’m a big dork, totally insecure, super normal and just like you, is that Taylor Swift has maybe pulled off the biggest trick in the history of pop music. It’s a coup of the highest degree to be able to make a surprised face and have it communicate that you can’t believe all these people are here to see little old you while you are flying over them, literally dancing on a sparkly pedestal in the center of an enormous football field.
Our take: It is both her amazement and her sweetly-phrased denials of her own fame which endear her to us. She presents as the “every-person” who just happened to find superstardom…and thus she connects with everyone who believes that becoming a star is but a chance encounter and a sprinkle of fairy dust from occurring. She is the embodiment of a collective dream.
Special Friday Highlight: Fans were treated to special guest performances including an appearance by Fifth Harmony for a rendition of their current hit, Worth It.
Upcoming 1989 World Tour dates in September:
09.04.15 – EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
09.05.15 – Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
09.09.15 – Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
09.11.15 – Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN
09.12.15 – Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN
09.13.15 – Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN
09.16.15 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
09.17.15 – Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
09.18.15 – Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
09.21.15 – Spirit Center, Kansas City, MO
09.22.15 – Spirit Center, Kansas City, MO
09.25.15 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
09.26.15 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
09.28.15 – ScottTrade Center, St. Louis, MO
09.29.15 – ScottTrade Center, St. Louis, MO
( More dates available at http://taylorswift.com/events )
For more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Mendes
http://www.shawnmendesofficial.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_Joy
http://www.vancejoy.com/fireandtheflood
http://www.little-mix.com/us/home
http://fifthharmonyofficial.com/