Taylor Swift at Heinz Field, 6/15/11

It's taken me nearly six months to find the proper words with which to describe the rather bit of fun I had at the Taylor Swift concert I attended. Not that I've been working on writing this all that time, but rather that until now, the event was so fresh and vivid, writing about it appeared simply unnecessary, as though it would dumb it down. I saw a number of great concerts this year, and I may get around to describing the rest, but the best was clearly this.

Taylor Swift w/ Needtobreathe, Randy Montana and Danny Gokey at Heinz Field
June 15th, 2011, Pittsburgh PA


SETLIST


1. Sparks Fly
2. Mine
3. The Story of Us
4. Our Song
5. Mean
6. Back to December (incl. Apologize and You're Not Sorry)
7. Better Than Revenge
8. Speak Now
9. Fearless (incl. Hey, Soul Sister and I'm Yours)
10. Last Kiss
11. You Belong With Me
12. Dear John
13. Enchanted
14. Haunted
15. Long Live


16. Fifteen
17. Love Story

I'm about to gush uncontrollably for a handful of paragrphs, but it's not hyperbole, nor is it even the result of fanatical appreciation (prior to this show, Taylor wasn't even one of my first tier favorites, the concert is what made me into this much of a fan).... That night at Heinz Field with Taylor Swift was one of the most magical experiences of my life. It's the kind of thing I am liable to reminisce over for the rest of my days, that's how beautiful it was. But let's backtrack a moment...

For this concert I went alone, resolved to assuage some of the self-conciousness that had dogged me at the Miranda Cosgrove concert (which I attended with a good, but rather uninterested friend). The choice worked out perfectly. Having someone with me, even if they had been a great friend and a big Taylor fan to share the experience with, would have drawn attention away from the subtle magic of the venue. To avoid congestion from city traffic, I arrived to (and later left) the venue by taking a nicely-sized brisk walk along one of Pittsburgh's majestic rivers, a perfect primer and coda to an electric night.

The open air stadium treated me to a picture-perfect summer evening with just the right warmth, the right measure of softly meandering wind, to conjure up all those wistful feelings of formative summers spent as a youth, when the world seemed alive with wonder. But instead of inspiring ideas of lost innocence and regret, as those wistful summer winds most often do, I was instilled with a sense of glory, because the event I was engorssed in was -- for once -- worthy of those lost summer days, typified by Taylor's set-closing Long Live, an indellibly brilliant ode to the very experience we were all in the midst of living.

The setlist was pefect, even better than I hoped. With enthralling hit after hit after hit, it felt like the first time I saw the great Tom Petty. Except instead of reiterating past glories the umpteenth time like Tom, Taylor was in the midst of her very first victory lap. Undeniably at the peak of her powers, more culturally relevant than anyone in her field, playing all of her newest material, touring her greatest album yet made, still vital and alive and meaning it, this was Taylor's first outing after she had soured to the summit of Earth's good graces with her career-defining Fearless album and tour. It was almost like seeing Pink Floyd tour Wish You Where Here in 1975, or witnessing Nirvana tour In Utero in 1993.

Like In Utero, Speak Now repeats the basic formula from its preceeding masterpiece album, but transfuses it with a wealth of newfound maturity and nuance. There's no question, Fearless boasts Taylor's best few songs. But Speak Now is a stronger, smarter, more consistent album throughout: featuring her most arresting lyrics and her most divine instrumentations. Plus it rocks the hardest, making for the best live experience. Which means it's pretty amazing we got to see her play nearly every track, plus the best of Fearless.

The show featured a total of 5 tracks from her two hit-packed previous albums, even though she could have easily and reasonably spent more than half the show recapping their biggest cuts. That means we got 12 of the 14 songs from Taylor's new album -- this is how a hungry young artist works, they don't dwell on last year's triumph. We got to see Speak Now done as powerfully as the band will ever be able to play it. Many of these incredible album cuts may never be seen again in concert, and I feel privileged to have recieved them. A sprawling, ferocious extended rendition of the pounding 'Better Than Revenge,' all the symphonic punch of 'Haunted' tapped to fill a football stadium, the tender textures of 'Dear John' enhanced with firework firepower... plus an earnest, solo ukelele version of 'Fearless,' it was an expert set.

I look anxiously forward to going back and seeing Taylor's shows year after year, as I have with Tom Petty. And while by 2020 I'm sure I'll be about as sick of hearing You Belong With Me and Fearless as can be (despite these being two of the best songs ever made), I can't wait to see all the incredible album cuts from Taylor's next albums. And I can't wait to complain about how boring her Greatest Hits setlists are in 2030, if she goes that route (and while I'd prefer she didn't, she will). I want to be there to witness it all. I can't wait to become an enduring part of this phenomenon, because this phenomenon may have become an enduring part of me.