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She may not have the vocal range of Christina Aguilera, the creativity of Lady Gaga or the dancing skills of Beyonce, but Taylor Swift may be the best female musician in the music industry today. Why? Swift is able to command an entire arena filled with thousands of screaming fans during her two hour show, and is still able to walk through the crowd giving hugs to each fan along the way. She isn’t mobbed, she isn’t crushed, she isn’t attacked by over zealous fans. Swift’s music, all written by the 20 year old country/pop singer, plus her ability to remain humble and in awe of the spotlight that has been shone on her life, give her a feature that few artists have – the ability to relate to her fans.

After being on the road for three years opening for country and pop acts, Fearless is likely to be Swift’s first of many headlining tours. Traveling across the globe with opening acts Kellie Pickler and Gloriana, Swift made two stops in Toronto on May 21 and 22, selling out the Air Canada Centre both nights.

With multiple outfit changes, including three sequined dresses, her trademark black boots, a Renaissance style dress for Love Story, and her very own Maple Leafs jersey, complete with ‘Swift 1′ on the back, Taylor was in fine form to wow a mostly female, cowboy hat and boot wearin’ crowd. Homemade signs and t shirts bearing messages of love and support for Swift were common at the concert for a singer who has made herself more like a friend than a superstar in the eyes of her fans.

Swift pulled out all the stops to make Fearless a tour that entertained fans, including back up dancers, taped interludes from celebs such as Tim McGraw and Tyler Hilton, and theatrics that included a smoke machine engulfing the entire stage while Swift banged out You’re Not Sorry on an elevated piano. Exploding confetti during a clip from Valentine’s Day of Swift and Taylor Lautner kissing during Today Was a Fairytale and a rain machine that Swift sang under during her closing song, Should Have Said No created a visual spectacle that was fit for Swift’s die hard fans.

The taped segments gave Swift time to move half way around the area to stand in the crowd and perform her song Hey Stephen about a childhood friend. Half way through the song Swift handed her acoustic guitar off to a security guard and made her way to a second stage set up at the opposite end of the arena, taking her time along the way to hug fans. And Taylor Swift hugs. Doing her best to connect with every fan within reaching distance, Swift took seconds with each concert-goer to wrap her arms around the fan and show her appreciation for their undying support over the years. This display of love for ones fans may be the most genuine act I’ve ever seen by someone in such a public space.

Between songs Swift regaled her captivated audience with stories of girl power from her past, including learning to play a 12 string guitar after her first guitar teacher told her she would never have hands big enough to handle the extra strings. Swift talked about love, recalling tales of when it’s gone right, and like most Swift songs, when it’s gone really, really wrong.

Swift showed her versatility when she broke into the chorus of Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around Comes Around during You’re Not Sorry. She’s definitely guilty of over using her signature head of blond curls to emphasize every beat in her songs with a hair flip. But, if I had her hair and freakishly impressive neck strength, I’d probably start ending all my sentences with a hair flip as well. I was happy to see that Swift has taken a cue from the many singers before her who have taken very public and painful spills when combining high heels and stairs in their concerts and instead opted to wear flats for the entire show. Finally!

Her singing ability, a topic that was famously up for debate after her not so stellar performance with Stevie Nicks at the 2010 Grammys, was on point the entire night. Swifts range might not be up to par with her tour mate Kelli Pickler, but Swifts knows what works for her voice and work it, she does.

I think that the greatest factor behind Swifts ability to be personal with her fans is that she has somehow remained humble throughout all of her success. Swift still seems to be in awe of what she has achieved in such a short period. I remember watching an interview with John Mayer years ago, who recently collaborated with Swift, and he said that it is one of his goals to stand on stage every night and take a few seconds to let the awesomeness of the moment sink in. Swift took several moments during her two hour concert to gaze at the crowd, an act that some may have seen as grandstanding, a way of stroking one’s ego. But, I think that the genuineness Swift exhibits both in her writing and in trying to physically reach out to as many fans as possible show that she was doing something that many of us fail in capturing in our everyday lives: the appreciation of the ‘big’ moments while they’re happening.

I think the world would be a much better place if we all took a cue from the wise Ms. Swift and hugged one another a whole lot more.

Set List

You Belong With Me
Our Song
Tell Me Why
Teardrops on My Guitar
Fearless
Forever and Always
Hey Stephen
Fifteen
Tim McGraw
White Horse
Love Story
The Way I Loved You
You’re Not Sorry
Picture to Burn

Encore
Today Was A Fairytale
Should Have Said No

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Tags: Fearless, justin timberlake, Taylor Lautner, taylor swift, Tim McGraw, Tyler Hilton, valentine's day

Posted on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 at 6:32 pm by Allison and is filed under Blog, Concert Reviews, Concerts & Events, Featured, Music & Videos, Reviews.

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