Taylor Swift isn’t just an artist, she’s an icon. Her songs aren’t just songs, they are stories. Her fans aren’t just fans, they are friends. And her concerts are not just shows, they are theatrical events. These statements were never more on display than when Taylor played the second night of two sold-out shows at Gillette Stadium on July 25th in front of almost 60,000 screaming Swifties. Swift moved away from her country roots with her last two albums, ‘Red’ and ‘1989,’ but there was no way New England Country Music was going to miss one of the most anticipated shows of the summer.
Gillette Stadium was filled to the brim with anticipation as the lights went off shortly before 9:30pm, but was just as quickly lit up again with wristbands that were passed out to fans as a gift from Swift herself. If the building had a roof, it would’ve been blown off when Taylor took the stage with her first song, ‘Welcome to New York.’ Some could question this being an odd choice seeing as how we were just down the road from Boston; you sports fans know what we’re talking about. “Hello and welcome to the 1989 Tour just outside Boston, MA,” Taylor proclaimed before the crowd went nuts, making her take a second to pause. Her stage was an elaborate setup with an extension reaching all the way out to the 50 yard line and the main stage held three large video screens. The two end screens came to life and looked like a comic book during ‘New Romantics.’ Swift would then introduce herself to this capacity crowd. “I’m Taylor and there is no more beautiful sight that I could see then a sold-out Gillette Stadium crowd for a second night! I was born in 1989!”
The night would be filled with many quick wardrobe changes, the first when Swift arriving onstage in a shiny black dress and a golf club to sing, ‘Blank Space.’ Her hit single was an elaborate performance with her dancers onstage behind screens which only showed their moving silhouettes. Gillette would be lit up all evening as the wristbands fans were given would be put to good use throughout the evening. The first example of this was when smoke erupted from the stage and the wristbands lit up red during, ‘I Knew You Were Trouble.’ This gave an amazing added visual effect to the show and made fans feel as if they were even more a part of the concert. As much as fans love her, Swift loves them even more and took many opportunities to express that. One of these times was right before she performed ‘I Wish You Would.’ “It’s amazing to be in Boston, MA on this Saturday night! Have to be honest, as I’ve never been incredible at playing it cool or hiding my feelings. I’ve been counting down to these two days for the entire tour. You guys are absolutely the most amazing crowds filling this stadium for the past 5 years. I’ll never forget that this was the first NFL stadium I ever sold-out. Not only do you show up but you show up with every single lyric memorized, my face on your shirts, in outfits from my videos… posters with my cats photos on them. Thank you for choosing to hangout with me! A lot has changed in my life since I last saw you… put out an album called ‘1989’, moved to NY, cut my hair, surrounded myself with great friends and being obsessed with you.”
In between songs, the audience was treated to video testimonials from some of the friends Taylor spoke of such as Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, HAIM and Lily Aldridge. Swift put on one of the most visually stunning performances of the night next with ‘How You Get The Girl.’ Wearing a two piece outfit with light up polka dots, she was surrounded by her dancers with umbrellas and the main video screen showing the George Washington Bridge. She followed this up with fantastic renditions of ‘I Know Places’ and ‘All You Had To Do Was Stay.’ The latter being prefaced with Taylor addressing the crowd saying, “I feel we’re on the same page as I talk to all of you online. Even if we’re not in the same place, I enjoy hearing what’s going on in your lives. For 10 years now, I’ve written songs about my life and now you feel comfortable telling me about your lives. This makes me extremely happy, so thank you!”
(Courtesy of Gillettte Stadium/David Silverman)
On each date of this tour, Swift has made it a habit of bringing out special guests each night to surprise her fans. Be it Lorde, Nick Jonas, the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team, Sam Hunt or on the first night at Gillette, Walk the Moon. This show was no different. “Are we having fun so far tonight, Boston? Let’s bring Boston a musical surprise and I’ll remind all of you that the people you’re about to see came here out of the goodness of their own hearts to see you.” She then brought out Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller, who collectively form the duo, MKTO. All three of them then proceeded to make the crowd go nuts with the duo’s huge hit, ‘Classic.’ Swift slowly took a walk to the end of the extended stage with her guitar, strapped herself to the stage and took flight as the end of the stage rose high above the Gillette Stadium crowd. “I want to play you a song that I don’t get to play much anymore in concert,” she said as she dazzled the crowd with a great version of her hit, ‘Fifteen.’ It was amazing to see the visual of seeing Swift in the air and Gillette Stadium lit up entirely blue courtesy of the fans’ wristbands.
The stage extension would next show off a new trick as the entire thing rose into the air and spun around while Taylor sang ‘Clean.’ This was a great addition to the show as it made every fan, no matter where they were sitting, feel closer to the songstress as she serenaded the crowd. Before all of this, she setup the song with a few things to make her fans reflect. “Looking around the crowd and we have a lot of people who traveled from other states to be here. I look out at this crowd and I can see every single person. If you think I can’t, that’s not true, as you’re all illuminated. This is breathtaking for me to look out and see all of this. Makes me think about my crowd as a group of individuals and how every single person is going through their own set of circumstances. Every single person here has overcome something to get out of bed, put on clothes and be at this concert tonight. Please keep that in mind if you’re out in the world and forget that everyone is struggling with something. If you listened to my music in that moment, I consider that the highest honor and can never thank you enough.”
Taylor wasn’t ready to land just yet as she decided to play an old song but give it a new vibe. ‘Love Story’ was the huge hit that was given the updated sound as Swift performed it using a synthesizer and the overwhelming voices from the audience sang along. Now that the flight had landed, Taylor switched into a sequined dress and her dancers returned, wearing purple suits and rolling on heelys to ‘Style.’ The costume changes came fast and furious, as did more of her huge hit singles. Swift appearing on stage in a black bodysuit could only mean one thing, ‘Bad Blood.’ This had the crowd popping and had everyone on their feet singing every word. It’s times like this where song choice is very key so that you don’t lose momentum with the audience and it was evident that Taylor never has this problem. ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ got the ball rolling and featured Swift onstage alone with her guitar before kicking the tune into high gear. One of the best moments of the entire evening was when Swift sat down at the piano and began to play ‘Enchanted.’ She then turned it into a powerful rendition of ‘Wildest Dreams,’ eventually blending the two songs together. Making this moment even better, was Taylor taking the time to acknowledge the crowd one more time. “I was thinking about this and how over the years, you were one of the first crowds supportive enough of me to fill a stadium. This was five or six years ago and we’ve had shows where it was a complete downpour- the infamous rain show. Since then you have watched people say countless things about me or my music and you kept coming back. That is the most tremendous show of loyalty.”
Every show has to come to an end and you could tell the crowd of just under 60,000 would stay there singing forever if they were allowed. ‘Out of the Woods’ was a great setup to what would easily be the most energy filled song of the entire night. We were treated to one last video of Taylor and her cats, Meredith and Olivia, before Gillette started to shake. You can be five years old, 80 years old, a girl, a boy or hell, even The Rock, but when ‘Shake It Off’ is played you can’t help but sing or dance along to it. Swift and her dancers filled the entire extension of the stage as it rose into the air once again and spun around at a rapid pace. The wristbands flashed endlessly with a bright purple color and danced in the air along with the rest of the fans attached to them. Fireworks exploded in the air from behind the massive stage an you could tell that Taylor, her band, her dancers and each person in attendance put all they had left into this hit song.
There really is nothing that you can compare being at a Taylor Swift concert to. Every single person comes into the show, has a blast, gets more than their money’s worth and comes out feeling like more of a friend to Taylor than a fan. It is very refreshing to see an artist who, from the start, has been as devoted to her fans as they are to her. The connection between the two is just as important as the songs you go to hear. You left the show with a huge smile on your face and the feeling that you saw so much more than a concert… you saw a special event.
This review was done by Mike Sullivan. You can follow me on Twitter here.
(Photos- Courtesy of Gillettte Stadium/David Silverman)