I was actually one of those who were very surprised to learn that all the tickets to her show were already sold out. And I found out it was sold out since December pa of last year!! Frankly, I don't remember anyone doing that since I usually buy my tickets on the day of the concert, and there normally is a ticket left - yeah, even for big ticket acts like Lady Gaga and Super Junior and even Janet Jackson. I don't know if it was just a clever marketing ploy but it did work. The organizers were allowed by the people of the Araneta Coliseum to open a section, an SRO section in Upper A and B last February 4. I did not know that and I did not get my tickets that way. Those tickets also disappeared quickly.
Anyway, I got my tickets because my classmate in Spanish class knew that I wanted to watch Taylor Swift but I didn't where to get tickets for it. She had a friend who had some tickets and voila, I got the tickets yesterday! That finally completed my plan for my 40th birthday week celebration! Thanks Anne!!
Well, as for the show! Now I know why the Grammy voters gave the prestigious Album of the Year to her last year. She's a fantastic performer!! And she knows how to connect with the audience!
Well, for this show of hers, you'd have to be a real fan of hers to know the songs since she plucked most of tonight's material from her latest album, Speak Now, that's why it's the Speak Now tour.
This is actually the first show in almost 16 years where I saw the performer from the back! (In 1995, I watched the Valentine's concert of Zsa Zsa, and I was in the back!!) Since the concert was sold out, the SRO tickets I got for tonight had seats for us, but we had to be at her back!! Well, no complaints there. We were so near the stage we could actually really see her everytime she turned around, including her last act where she falls off the stage. A cushion caught her at the back - and we saw that fall of hers!! Too bad my camera has no zoom so I wasn't able to catch that moment, but I'm sure someone did since we were many in my section.I actually love her song selection but I was just surprised why she left out "Teardrops in My Guitar" and "White Horse" - two songs which really introduced her to me.
She opened the show with 'Sparks Fly' - the second song in her CD - a song which I like a lot! Then she followed it up with 'Mine' which really drove the crowd wild. If there was a decibel-measuring machine tonight at the Araneta Coliseum, it would've broken down since the screams from the mostly girl teens were really loud. Actually, by her third song, my ear was starting to hurt from all that screaming!!
My favorite song from her concert set is Speak Now, the title track of her latest CD. And she performed it with some background singers. Of course, the loudest shrieks came for 'You Belong To Me' and 'Love Song'.
One thing I observed too was this was a really loyal group of fans! It's normally in rock concerts where the fans can sing along with the performer - even in their most obscure songs, but tonight, except maybe for Long Live and Dear John (another song from Speak Now which I like very much!!), her fans practically made tonight a sing-along fest!! You could hear their singing reverberate inside the coliseum! I'm sure Taylor was mighty pleased to hear that!
Another observation is how tall she was!! She was as tall as her male guitarists!! She had this pair of long legs and long curly hair which she used to full effect in some of her songs! No wonder she had that short affair with Jake Gyllenhaal! Except maybe for the fact that she's only 21, she's actually really pretty and tall!! I am saying that because I was really surprised to see how small Justin Bieber was during the Golden Globes!! He is still, really just a man-child - when put in the same table as Brad Pitt or some of Hollywood heavyweights - no matter how big he looks like in all those publicity photos and videos of his. However, for Taylor, she's tall and beautiful in real life!! And quite a stunner!!
If this girl just keeps her senses straight and continues to write from her heart, she will still have loyal fans when she turns 50 in 2040 - and that would be quite an interesting album to listen too - since Taylor is such a perceptive songwriter! I am saying that since the average age of the audience member tonight was most likely, 16!!
Last observation, now I know why the tickets were sold out! Because kids bought it!! And where there are kids, you'd see the Mom and the Dad and the nanny too!! Instead of just the usual two tickets for a date concert (say, like Bruno Mars' April 8 show), you can sell four to five tickets per customer instead since there were many parents around escorting their brood! I caught sight of Richard and Lucy with their daughter in front but I don't think they are familiar with her songs. Even their daughter just sat their passively. I hope Laura won't be like that when she sees Justin Bieber.
Well, tonight ended my self-declared birthday week! And I am glad Taylor delivered a good performance tonight to make it a wonderful finale!!
Just read your review about watching from the back. I also watch concerts a lot but I have never seen people given seats at the back! Sharing with you my own review of this massive TS concert: http://3xhcch.multiply.com/journal/item/518
ReplyDeletei am so excited to see her on june 15th
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