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TWEENS, TWEETS, TAYLOR: SUPERSTAR SWIFT WOWS HER CONSTITUENTS AT ESA

Taylor Swift at Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City
May 26, 2009

THE DOTTED LINE: ••••

By JOHN YOUNGREN

SALT LAKE CITY – I’ve probably seen 30-40 concerts at the Energy Solutions Arena (formerly the Delta Center) over the years. I saw Springsteen turn in one for the pantheon, I saw Garth Brooks at his peak, The Who past their prime and the Stones in only their second modern-era concert in Salt Lake.

I’ve seen Billy and Elton, Tim and Faith, Dave Matthews Band and the Dixie Chicks, Hootie & The Blowfish and Jimmy Buffett.

Seldom have I seen such a symbiotic blend of performer and audience as I saw last night, when 19-year-old country music superstar Taylor Swift dazzled some 14,000 tween and teen girls, not a small amount of their mothers, a few dads and, of course, me. Hey, I like the chick. Her songwriting skills and preternatural showmanship amaze me (literally) and – as I saw on display, somewhat up close and surprisingly personal – she can already mesmerize for more than two hours and some 17 songs.

What will she be like when she turns 21?

Swift doesn’t have the vocal pipes of a Faith Hill (her role model) or Carrie Underwood (with whom she’s frequently compared). I know – I’ve seen them both in concert, too. But what she does have that they don’t have – and this is the surprise, again given her relative youth – is a knack for pure theatrics; indeed, her two-hour show was full of pomp and circumstance, pushing every button and delivering on every promise she made to her adoring audience. While her vocals can get a bit thin and lost in the mix – and it’s always hard to be fair about that, given ESA’s shitty acoustics – it didn’t much matter on Tuesday. She just kept teeing them up and knocking them out, whirling through costume and set changes and exhibiting a pop-friendly, sing-along sound – nevertheless a lot more urgent and electric in person than it sometimes comes across on the recorded versions of some of her twangy, yearning singles.

And needless to say, from her poppy opener (current single “You Belong With Me”) to a few of her early favorites – including “Our Song” and a frenzied “Picture To Burn” – she had the crowd on their feet and in literal harmony; Swift writes or co-writes all of her songs and her fans seem to know her every word, as they demonstrated throughout the evening.

She’s also naturally adept at connecting with her audience (maybe because most of them are five or six years younger than she). In a show highlight, Taylor appeared by surprise and out of the dark in a high section of the lower bowl bleachers to perform “Hey, Stephen” the clever and surprisingly bouncy scorned-woman song (and my suggested next single) off her new album, “Fearless.” Mid-song, she traveled down one long aisle of the ESA seats, hugging, touching and squeezing any fan she could get close to. That led to another, similar, highlight – her acoustic rendition of her first single “Tim McGraw” (“which I hope you’ll help me sing every word of because this is really the first thing you ever heard from me”), which started near the back of the arena but then finished up (after another huggy trek through the fans) with Swift back on the main stage and the ESA fans shrieking in an extended, unified pulsating roar – a heartstopping moment that seemed to choke up even the seasoned-beyond-her-years star.

All those woman-scorned songs she writes (the boys who hurt her feelings, or break up with her, or simply don’t notice her to begin with) somewhat pile on; it will be interesting to watch as Swift grows and her topic-matter begins to expand beyond getting taken for granted in science class. For now, though, that led to some of the show’s most electric moments – her “Should’ve Said No” encore, in which she’s ultimately drenched in water from above (reprising a popular country awards show performance of hers from a year or two ago); her emotional rendition of the current hit “White Horse” (all those tenderhearted tweens in the arena seemed equally wistful while wailing along) and, my personal favorite, her rendition of “Forever & Always” while wearing a sassy red dress and dark boots – a set piece that climaxes with her literally demolishing the set (throwing a chair, but it’s the same idea).

Other favorite moments for me included her stirring, piano-based performance of “What Goes Around,” a track from later in the “Fearless” CD I had all but ignored but now have new appreciation for given Taylor’s histrionic flair for it (slamming and squirming at the piano with particular drama). And I was knocked out by her particularly clever “Love Story” (as were her shrieking fans), a faithful homage to her own popular music video and yet another of those Swift songs that come across 10 times better (via its plaintive emotion and urgency) live.

Kellie Pickler was one scheduled opener who called in sick; nothing against the perky Pickler, but it didn’t really matter (the only possible fun would have been if she and Swift had teamed-up on stage for Pickler’s chipper “Best Days of Your Life,” which Taylor co-wrote). Opening act Gloriana was a pleasant diversion but not particularly memorable (I call them Littler Big Town, but I really like Little Big Town, so that’s where the comparison ends).

No, it all came down to the star of the show for me and – I suspect – most of the 13,999 others in attendance. They were as one with their heroine. And she didn’t let any of us down, with one of the most vibrant, energetic, masterful pure performances I’ve ever seen, perfectly in sync with her audience, their hopes, her dreams and our times. Strange to say. The 19-year-old kid had an epic night.

What does she do for an encore?

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ON THE DOT: Now back in business (with a modified rating system) the “John Youngren Dot Com” blog (once known as “Pop Stew”) should be updated regularly. And remember, as always, this is just an exhibition; it is not a competition – so please, no wagering. To contact John, e-mail johnyoungren@mac.com