This past weekend I went to the Taylor Swift's "Speak Now World Tour" for the third time, but it felt like the first time. After seeing it twice this past summer in Minnesota, I decided I would go again when she came to Arizona. I was nervous that the show would be stale, worn out, and boring after seeing it so many times. But, happily, that was not the case.Springing up out of the stage at exactly 8:30, Taylor Swift started off with a bang, performing her new hit single "Sparks Fly". The song is a hit, and her live performance was ablaze with fireworks and hair flipping. Then she went into some more of her recent hits, knocking off "Mine", and "The Story of Us" right off the bat. Swift often stared off into the crowd, mesmerized by the noise. It was hard to tell if these little bits were rehearsed, but if they were, she sure did a good job making them seem believable.
She addressed the crowd often, and told us how loud we were, which was nice because she hadn't complimented the shows in Minnesota as much, but there still was a gut feeling that said she says it a lot. Then, when it looked like there was going to be a costume change, she turned around and announced there was a special guest, Jon Foreman, the frontman from Switchfoot, and he came out, performing "Meant to Live" with Taylor. Even though I didn't know the song, the performance was entertaining, and the special guest always makes a concert feel special.
She then went off-stage, changing into her 'country' segment, playing "Our Song" and "Mean" on banjos. "Our Song" was quite entertaining, and it's great to see her play some of her first hits. "Mean" had the crowd clapping and singing along with excitement, being a song everyone can relate to.
She then segued into a piano medley of "Back to December", "Apologize" (One Republic cover), and "You're Not Sorry". Taylor then quickly changed into a sparkling red dress singing "Better Than Revenge". This midsection was nice, but not memorable.
Changing into a retro purple dress, Taylor came to interrupt a wedding, running off with the groom in "Speak Now", and then running off into the crowd, doling out hugs and hand grabs. She went to a stage in the back of the arena to play "Fearless" on the ukelele, "Last Kiss", and "No Parade", a Jordin Sparks cover. She began "You Belong With Me", before dashing back to the main stage to finish out the fun performance. She then sat down and crooned "Dear John", the sad ballad that runs a tad long, but hits a peak during the bridge, having fiery lyrics and fireworks.
Swift then morphed into a princess, prancing and dashing around the stage wonderstruck during "Enchanted", which morphed into a nightmare for "Haunted". Even though the song is great, the performance of "Haunted" was too big for Taylor, and the aerialists took away from her emotion. She then played "Long Live", a song dedicated to her band with her signature silver guitar.
After the curtain closed, the crown went wild waiting for the encore. Swift performed a little known song, "Ours", from the Target version of her album acoustically, the performed "Fifteen", and finished it off with "Love Story", floating around the arena on a balcony!
The concert was less personal, and more like a Broadway show. Not a bad thing, but definitely different. Her songs were catchy as ever, mostly drawing from her most recent album. Her singing has improved, and overall the show was a real winner. The question is, when will Swift do something wrong.
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