Taylor Swift

Dallas loves Taylor Swift

If you were wondering what the loud screams coming from downtown Dallas were last night well there’s no reason to worry.  It was just a sold out American Airlines Center showing their love for country/pop singer Taylor Swift.  This was the twenty year old’s first major headlining tour and if she had any worries about how she would do – judging from the crowd last night – she’ll do just fine.

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift

Starting off the night with her hit “You Belong With Me” dressed in a marching band uniform, she had the crowd – consisting of a surprising mix of young girls, teenage girls and boys, and parents that knew all the words as well – singing along and gave us an idea of what we she had in store for us when her dancers ripped off the uniform to reveal a short, sparkling dress beneath.  She continued with other hits “Teardrops On My Guitar” and the namesake of the tour, “Fearless”.

After a brief break with an amusing video clip entitled “Crimes of Passion” – where they joked that boys with the names of the men Taylor has mentioned in her songs, men who have wronged her, have become ‘victims’ as young girls mod them – Taylor appeared in the crowd towards the back of the arena.  Standing in the aisle she sang “Hey Stephen” to kick off a four song acoustic set where she took the time to walk through the crowd to the second stage, hugging fans, shaking hands and signing autographs along the way.  And she did it again while walking across the arena floor back to the main stage.  The hugs sent many fans to cloud nine, both young and old.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift

The sets were quite simply amazing.  A huge screen along the back and the raised platforms covered in screens as well meant that they were able to really adapt the setting to the song.  By far the most impressive was during “Love Story” where they literally recreated a medieval castle and Taylor and her dancers were in full costume to go with it, only to have Taylors ballgown snatched away to reveal a beautiful white flowing gown beneath.  And one can’t forget the rain of heart shapped confetti that seemed to fill the entire arena to the delight of the fans.  The two hour show ended with a two song encore, with an amazingly impressive rain of water onto the stage, and onto Taylor, for the last song, “Should’ve Said No” in which the words ‘No’ and ‘Go” and various others where seen in the water as it spilled down.

As a photographer we weren’t allowed to shoot the first song, only the second and third, but I didn’t mind.  I had the pleasure of taking my daughter with me to this show, her very first concert and seeing her very favorite artist.  If I’m ever tired at the end of these nights all I have to do is remember her face when Taylor walked out on stage.  That amazement and joy.  It’s why I love spreading the joy of music with my photos and reviews.  And exactly why people like Taylor Swift do what they do.  So thank you, Taylor Swift, for not only a fantastic show but an amazing experience that I got to share with my daughter.  You are truly an beautiful young woman.