Swift Premonitions

Swift Premonitions

In 2011 I was fortunate enough to see Taylor Swift rock Heinz Field and it was, for a myriad of reasons, one of the most magical nights of my life. Getting to see, for the first time, one of my all-time favorite artists at the undisputable peak of her powers performing a setlist of almost nothing but amazing newly released material was like a religious experience for such a big music geek as me.

This summer of 2013 I am thrilled, humbled, and gracious about the prospect of seeing Taylor's Red Tour. She has another new album out so this will definitely be a spectacular show. And perhaps most of all, I'm curious about what setlist she'll have for this tour.

Similar to my quirk about television programming direction, I have an equally deep abiding love of concert setlist ideology. Setlists have personality, setlists make statements. A setlist of all new material suggests confidence; a setlist of number one hits demonstrates prowess; a setlist of deep cuts implies intimacy. There are nuances between the setlists of different genres, different eras, different moods. It goes without saying that the songs an artist includes is one of the primary factors in whether the audience enjoys the show: riots can literally break out if a star doesn't play their biggest hit. But even the order the songs are played in plays a strong role. Most setlists strike a back and forth between ebbs and flows (alternating between hits and deep cuts, fast songs and ballads) to keep the audience's interest.

When it comes to Taylor's upcoming Red Tour, the setlist for the Speak Now tour gives us a pretty good blueprint. On the 2011 tour she performed 17 songs, 12 of which were from her latest album, Speak Now. The difference is now, she has a whole new album to play, adding 16 new potential tracks to the pool. And judging from last time, she'll try to fit as many of Red's tracks in as she can (which is exactly what I hope!).

Obligatory Hits:
Fifteen
Love Story
You Belong With Me
Back to December
Mine

Of the five old songs she performed in 2011, at least 3 of those are absolutely obligatory. You can count on the three mega-hits from Fearless being represented. However I'm going to guess that the not-as-popular title-track will not be carried over form last tour this time. The other old song she played was Our Song, from her self-titled album. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that because there's so much to fit in this year, Taylor will not perform anything from self-titled on the Red tour. If something does slip through, I hope it's Teardrops on My Guitar. But another iteration of Our Song would be welcome (and possibly the most likely choice).

Then what we have are the newly obligatory songs from Speak Now. I think it's safe to assume that they will condense Speak Now down to its essential hits like they did for Fearless. But it's difficult to say for sure where the cutoff line is. Mine and Back to December are pretty much sure things, but Mean and Ours may or may not be included.

Now we get to Red. Based on my speculation so far we have 5 to 8 tracks on the setlist, leaving approximately 9 to 12 potential Red tracks.

Bankable Red Picks:
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I Knew You Were Trouble
Begin Again
Everything Has Changed (Ed Sheeran is her opening act)

The whole rest of the album is genuinely possible after that, although 22 would probably be the best contender and I think Red and State of Grace also have a very good shot. Personally speaking I hope we hear All Too Well but I think for a ballad we'd be more likely to get Sad Beautiful Tragic or Treacherous. I'd really like to hear just about anything from the album so my hope is we'll get a solid 12 tracks or darn near it.

Wild Cards: In addition to Red, Taylor's had other recent hits including deluxe edition tracks from Speak Now, some of which have become hits, and soundtrack songs such as those for The Hunger Games like Safe & Sound. Songs like this could always make an appearance  especially the hit Ours (mentioned previously). On the Speak Now Tour, Taylor also frequently covered regionally-relevant tracks based on whatever state she was performing in. This or something similar could be repeated.

As far as the ordering of the setlist, I couldn't venture to guess. But if I were to throw some ideas out there, Red would make a perfect opener. I'd have to suggest a combo Fearless-Speak Now encore so possibly Back to December followed by Love Story. And if I could have one wish, I want the set closer to be either Holy Ground or Starlight, as they make perfect closers with that same sense of immediate wonder as Long Live has from last time.

All I can say is, can't wait!