Pop star and cat lover Taylor Swift brought a hit-filled set to a sold-out crowd at Manchester Arena this evening.
From the spectacular stage set up to the hilarious yet heartfelt video anecdotes of her friends; Taylor Swift and crew know how to put on a show.
As the audience familiarised themselves with the Arena, which had a huge catwalk dividing the crowd down the middle, we each found intriguing rubber wristband taped to our seats.
To my surprise, homemade banners have come along since I was a kid in the 90’s. Tonight most adorned brightly coloured flashing lights spelling out ‘1989’. - You think Brownies come prepared you should see ‘Swifties’.
As the Boombox stage curtain dropped, and the obligatory screaming commenced, the all-American girl kicked off her set with ‘Welcome To New York’.
Then something magical happened - our wrists became illuminated, flashing along to the beat of the ‘1989’ album opener.
Donning a sparkly jacket, black bralette and burgundy swing skirt Taylor effortlessly worked the biggest arena in the U.K. As the song ended the humble starlet mouthed “My God” as her devoted fans screamed.
Taking off her glittery bomber, Taylor introduced herself; “Good evening, Manchester! I’m Taylor I can’t believe this is a sold-out crowd.” While impressively negotiating the catwalk in heels, Taylor continued to show off the best off her latest album with ‘New Romantics’.
Next up came a lesson in life and love - “Boys only want love if it’s torture” - as Swift showcased her hit single ‘Blank Space’.
As our wrists shone red, Swift sat on the catwalk exhibiting her seamless vocals with minimal backing singing; “I knew you were trouble when you walked in”, before increasing the pace of the track back up to full speed.
Next came the first of many long speeches during which she thanked everyone for coming and highlighted her love of 80’s movies.
Following ‘I Wish You Would’ and a comical video interlude, featuring a famed cast including Haim and Cara Delevingne, came a real ‘Singing In The Rain’ moment. As a rendition of ‘How You Get The Girl’ came accompanied by illuminated umbrellas, acrobatic dancers holding lamposts, and pretty realistic rain, Taylor commanded her light up army of fans to jump along to the track.
‘I Know Places’ and ‘All You Had To Do Was Stay’ sandwiched a speech about friendships - the common theme that runs throughout her narrative led albums.
Then, returning to her acoustic roots Taylor donned a guitar and fingerpicked her way through ‘You Are In Love’. As her devoted fans echoed the lyrics back at her, the oblong stage slowly elevated her.
The catwalk platform began to spin as the incredible stage production stepped up another huge notch during ‘Clean’.
As she spun around, she got a good glimpse of all the homemade signs, commenting: “I’m just starting to comprehend how many light up signs you’ve made. That’s impressive that’s not just arts and crafts; it’s electrical!”
After pondering the ending of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy whilst chiming along on a keyboard, Taylor pulled out one of the rare early tracks of the evening; ‘Love Story’. Bravely unbuckling her safety straps towards the end to parade down the catwalk unaided.
Another video interlude of her new found friends followed as they communicated Taylor’s love of cats, with Lena Dunham going one step further, dubbing her the ‘patron saint of cats’.
Following an angelic rendition of ‘This Love’ with the help of four backing singers, bad ass Taylor returned clad in black leather to perform her latest masterpiece - ‘Bad Blood’. The fearless singer pounced on metal panels held aloft by backing dancers as the dramatic pounding beat of the song resonated throughout the Arena.
Continuing with her biggest hits Taylor brought out her electric guitar for a rocked up version of ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’.
Then, proving she sports a ball gown just as well as hot pants Taylor performed ‘Wildest Dreams’ on a skeletal futuristic piano, as smoke filled the stage.
Ripping off her net skirt to reveal another glitzy number Taylor encouraged the Mancunian crowd to sing with her one last time during ‘Out Of The Woods’.
While confetti fell at the end of the song the evening wasn’t over yet, as Taylor returned (via video) to introduce her two cats.
Donning a green sequined 1920s flapper style two piece, Taylor Swift reappeared on stage with the perfect outfit to ‘Shake It Off’ to. The impressive catwalk platform rose and rotated a few more times as she shook her stuff along with the catchy number, as the audience flashed along. Another flurry of fireworks and confetti signified the end of her set as she took a final stage bow with her fellow dancers.
Tonight Taylor proved to be cute yet fierce like a baby tiger - a fitting analogy for the patron saint of cats! However, just as relentless as Taylor Swift herself was her fans who stood, sang and danced along for the duration. Completely invested in her every word and move.
Her technological stage set up and meticulously planned and daring routine demonstrated that there’s much more to pop than people think, and there’s a lot more to Taylor too.
