By: D’Randa Hooks – OwlFeed
https://twitter.com/writingdranda
For me, last Monday night was one to remember. It was my very first concert and it happened to be with Taylor Swift.
I know she is one of those artists whom people seem to love or hate, but it wasn’t all about her. It was about the feeling of dancing next to your best friend, seeing someone who you’ve only witnessed on media, and singing along to the music while laughing with your friend about how silly you look. Taylor Swift is a strong female artist who encourages the individuality of young girls struggling to find out who they really are.
The concert “experience” started as soon as I walked into the arena. Girls covered in Christmas lights held signs with lyrics on them. Occasionally I would see the distinct costumes that represented various lyrics in her new album. As this was my first concert the purchase of merchandise to signify my attendance was a necessity.
The concert itself was art in its own right. I wouldn’t call myself a very devoted fan of Taylor Swift but I listen to her music often enough to know the songs. She sang most of the songs off the album“1989,” but what really sold me was the old songs she decided to reintroduce. She surprised the crowd with the singing of the songs “Love Story,” “Enchanted,” and “Ronan.”
What was so special about “Ronan” was that she had not performed the song more than once before and, in addition to that, her co-writer was present. For those of you who don’t know the origin “Ronan” here’s a little quick review. “Ronan” is a song about a 4-year-old boy who died fighting cancer. The song often can’t be completed without the company of Swift’s tears but during this performance she found strength enough to finish the piece.
One thing that I found as her biggest strength was the complexity of her performance. She is a great entertainer and keeps the audience on its toes the entire performance: from her boy dancers wearing Heelys, to the sequence when she wore a dress that was full of LED lights and hanged as the song went along.
The album is called “1989” in celebration of her birth year. Taylor Swift embraces the time period in which she grew up by using older style film filters and overall inspiration for almost all the costumes used in the performance.