Taylor Swift @ LG Arena, 22nd March 2011
On first impressions, Taylor Swift seems like a typical manufactured pop princess to me, and tonight I was excited to see if this was in fact true.
First up, are Scottish duo Martin & James, who although living up to the clean boy image, are very talented and do well to warm the audience up tonight. At any time tonight’s headliner is mentioned or the town’s mentioned, my ear’s got slowly greeted by the sounds of thousands of screaming girls. Mixing a sound between Mumford & Sons with City and Colour, they do very well vocally and musically. A great support band.
With tickets priced only at £30 – £35 for such a high profile act, I was wondering whether tonight would be a toned down affair from the high production stakes that’s come to be expected with touring shows such as this, but I was wrong.
As part of the Speak Now tour, the set featured a high rise stage, stars, a massive screen and runway. Backed by a large live band, Taylor stayed note perfect throughout and played many of the guitar parts herself through an acoustic guitar and a ukulele.
I have to admit, everything did feel a little clichéd and scripted as to what was coming out of her mouth, but that’s not to say she’s not a good entertainer with the ability to have the crowd in the palm of her hand. Spending her time between the main stage and an anti stage situated past the mixing desk towards the back of the arena meant that everyone got the opportunity to feel close to and enjoy Taylor at her best.
The visuals used tonight were absolutely stunning in clarity and the way in which they related towards each song such as Enchanted and opener Sparks Fly. Enchanted was a personal highlight, showing a talent for song writing and entertaining that many young stars lack today, through the overproduced nature of their career.
Also incorporating covers within her own songs, such as I’m Yours, Hello Soul Sister and Apologize lead to people such as myself, who didn’t know many songs, to enjoy a little sing-along moment. Ending in a finale of Love Story, the arena was flooded with ticker tape and confetti, which put a final cherry on every girl’s dream being realised tonight.
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
Review – Dan Earl
Photos – Andy Whitehouse
Great shots Andy. I love the one where she’s walking towards you, she has a cute expression.
It was fun to shoot wasn’t it… 🙂
You’d have thourght the President was in town with the media security !! fun though…and she was on her way to give a peck on the cheek 🙂