"Judging by the first two songs, I'm in love with you already."

Consider this an interrim post. One to be read as a part of the blog, but also one which doesn't quite belong, as it doesn't have any lyrics. I don't do these kinds of posts often, only to commemorate major occasions from time to time. Examples? Some major occasions have included the release and subsequent run-down of Fearless, Taylor Swift's [shining] sophomore album, and also the one-year anniversary of this blog. Both were kind of big deals. And so is the subject of this post.

There's something sacred and majestic about a concert, and a concert of someone you've adored and watched grow for three years and whose career you followed almost vicariously since the discovery of her music. Add into that the fact that the concert included as opening acts artists you've fallen in love with as well, and it's basically four hours in heaven. In fact, that's exactly what it is.

That's right, folks, I'm talking about the Taylor Swift concert I mentioned a while ago. That was this past Thursday, May 13th (coincidentally, someone's very special 25th birthday...), and because I was there I will tell all. And devote this post solely to that magical experience. (But don't you worry, my loyal readers, there will be another lyrics post next week...hopefully!)

I wore my very special Taylor Swift shirt that I had received two years earlier, when I got into TRL (that MTV show that no longer exists) and she was hosting. It has a picture of Taylor (the picture on the bonus track version of Taylor Swift) and her signature. We had tickets for section 109 at the Prudential Center, which were fabulous seats, and it was my mom, my sister, and me.

When we got there, of course, section 109 was the farthest away from any stairs whatsoever, so by the time we reached it, the first opening act, Gloriana (!!!!), had already started. And so it happened that for the third time, I raced across the Prudential Center. Hm. I missed the first couple of lines of "How Far Do You Wanna Go?" but there they were: Rachel, Cheyenne, Mike, and Tom. IT WAS THEM! And the arena was barely full at this time. There were a couple of girls in red t-shirts behind me, and they and I sang along with Gloriana. Rachel wore a blue shirt, Cheyenne had a black tank top with a pink scarf, and Tom and Mike were dressed like guys (I think Tom wore a brown blazer and a black shirt and Mike something similar, but for some reason I cannot recall what they wore!). The next song they sang was "If You're Leaving," which begins with a fabulous four-part harmony. It sounds even better live than on the album, which is extraordinary and saying a LOT. Then Cheyenne took the mic and said, "Hey, girls, have you ever met a guy...who didn't keep his promises?" (or something like that) and burst into "You Said," which is the only song on the album that features her on lead vocals (Rachel is the lead female singer, generally). After that, Rachel introduced their current single, and one of my very favourite songs ever, "The World is Ours Tonight," which is beautiful in so many ways. The syncopation and the vocals are just perfect. The last song they performed was "the song that started it all," as Tom said by way of introduction, "Wild At Heart." And it sounded tremendous! I didn't know it was possible, but since Thursday, I love Gloriana more than I had before I saw the band live. Gloriana groupie, anyone?

After a few minutes (like 15-20) of waiting and setting up, Kellie Pickler herself came on. She's really cute in person, with that blonde bob haircut of hers. She wore all black, but had it jazzed up, with sparkles and a really nice belt. Her set opened with the smash hit she and Taylor had written for Kellie Pickler, her second album, "Best Days of Your Life." At this point, the arena had filled up substantially and she had the light show going and everything, which added a new dimension to the songs she sang. She launched into "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" immediately after she finished the first one. The next song was one from her second album and one I hadn't heard, "Rocks Instead of Rice." She introduced her new single "just released to country radio" and sang "Makin' Me Fall In Love With You." Something about Kellie Pickler is wonderfully joyous, and that showed in her live rendition of "Don't You Know You're Beautiful," the first single released from Kellie Pickler. For the next song, "I Wonder," she sat on a stool and didn't walk around, because it is a really sad and moving song. I remember the first time I ever heard of her and heard her sing was, funnily enough, at the 2007 CMAs and she sang "I Wonder," but couldn't finish it for crying. And I can't blame her. And if you do, go find a heart and some empathy. Wrapping up her set was the delightful "Red High Heels," which was her very first ever single. She was wearing sparkly silver [really] high heels at the show, so it was very fitting. And I fell in love with Kellie Pickler again.

Then, we had to wait another long time. And wait. But boy, was it worth it.

The curtain lifted and revealed the stage that Taylor had designed herself. It was half-circular, half-square, the pieces which were connected by stairs, and had a huge screen behind it. Pictures were projected on this screen, as well as on the front of the box and the circle (this is a really bad description of it, I apologize...I was never going to do it justice, I'm afraid). It began with lockers projected on the front of the set, and she was lifted up onto the top of the circular part of the stage, wearing a band uniform (watch the music video for "Fearless," to understand completely what I mean). Her dancers were dressed as cheerleaders. Her dancers were remarkable. And at this point, even before Taylor began to sing, I started sobbing. Nope, I'm not at all ashamed to admit it. After three years (and I loved Taylor Swift since before she was Taylor Swift, which is not something I can say about any other artist I've ever been a fan of) of wanting to be at that very moment, who wouldn't? She is a star. Ha, she's a "SuperStar." Anyway, she began with "You Belong With Me." Halfway through the song, a few of her dancers ripped off the band costume she was wearing and revealed a fringe-y and sparkly dress underneath, which she wore for the rest of the first set of songs. Of course, I couldn't actually hear her voice singing, not over the thousands of voices (including mine, of course) singing back at her. But it didn't matter. She followed that with "Our Song," which my mom still considers the best song Taylor's ever written, and rightfully so. It was also her first number 1 song. It started with her fiddle player, Caitlin, on top of the circular piece of the stage, playing the signature opening notes of the song. I only wish you could've heard the screams and the decibel-shift of the noise level that only became more and more so as the show went on. What a beautiful song. What a beautiful song. After the first two songs, she spoke for the first time.

"Hello, Jersey!" And some things I don't remember. "I know that by the end of the night, I'm going to fall in love with you, Jersey. In fact, judging by the first two songs, I'm in love with you already. I'm going to quantify my love for you. I love you like I love sparkly dresses. I love you like I love to burn my ex-boyfriend's pictures. I love you like I love fairytales. I love you like I love to sing about love stories." As she said that last sentence, she curtsied, just like in the "Fearless" music video, where they paint wings on her.

And then she launched into "Tell Me Why," with the screen behind her flashing the word 'why' any and every which way, with different fonts and styles and colours and general aesthetics. Upon finishing this one, she introduced her next song like this (of course, paraphrased by memory): "Freshman year, I sat next to this guy. I was in love with him, but he didn't know I existed. Sometimes he'd talk to me...about his girlfriend. And I think you know his name." Any guesses as to what song she was talking about? If you answered that his name was Drew, and that the song was "Teardrops on my Guitar," you would be 100% correct. So bravo! The big screen behind the set had the picture of a library, and there was a pseudo-Drew sitting at a table (one of her dancers), at which she sat down also to sing the first verse of the song. He got up halfway through the song, and met up with his pseudo-girlfriend, and they danced a ballet pas de deux (beautiful!) at the front of the stage. For the next song in her set, she got her beautiful guitar, the one with 'Taylor' written on the neck, and also introduced it in some way similar to the writing on her Fearless liner notes, that when you've been hurt you fall in love again, and that to her is "Fearless." And, as always, it was a beautiful rendition. Made only more beautiful by the chorus of thousands of voices singing back to her, singing along with her.

After she ended "Fearless," the namesake song of both the album and the tour, the curtain came down (the curtain had Corinthian columns and a red velvet draped curtain drawn on it) and an interview played on the two screens flanking the stage. It was part of the interview that was taped when Taylor and the "Behind the Scenes at the Fearless Tour" aired on Dateline. The interview lady asked, "When you put the boys' names into your songs, why do you think they're going to want to date you?" And her answer was, "Well, I figure, if they don't want to be in a bad song, they shouldn't do bad things." And the phrase "they shouldn't do bad things" echoed throughout the arena, and was reflected in the screens as the curtain lifted, and Taylor burst into "Forever and Always." Just like she did at the CMAs last November. Including the whole throwing-the-chair part and everything. For this song, she wore a red sparkly and rhinestone-y short dress. All I have to say is, Joe Jonas is an idiot. And Taylor is one wonderful person. And singer. And songwriter. And performer. And [insert noun here].

The curtain descended yet again after this song was over, and the screens turned on once more. It was an episode of the fictitious show, "Crimes of Passion," with people like Tyler Hilton and Stephen Barker Liles of Love and Theft, Drew in the music video for "Teardrops on my Guitar" and subject of "Hey Stephen," respectively, appearing. It was about so-called "Taylor victims," with people whose names she used in her songs. Last in the montage was none other than Tim McGraw himself, saying, "Most people forget that I was Taylor Swift's first victim. Almost like I had been plucked out of obscurity when she used my name in her first single." In the end, the announcer, who was a member of her band, showed that cameras had picked up a new Taylor victim, a made-up person named Neil/Neal, who supposedly gave her a toaster for her birthday. She closed the episode of "Crimes of Passion" with this: "How do you spell your name, with an 'i,' or an 'a'?...You know what's funny? How many words rhyme with the name Neil/Neal."

And that was the introduction to "Hey Stephen," which she began in section 6, right below us, and in the crowd. I'm not kidding you. She was wearing a blue dress, with brown cowboy boots. She had her wonderful 'Taylor' guitar, and sang about 2/3rds of the song before she handed it to her bodyguard and walked through the crowd, hugging fans and shaking hands, to the sound station, where she had a mini-stage set up, a black circle on a pedestal. It took a good five minutes for her to walk the short distance, because she hugged everyone she could reach. When she got to the stage, she finished the song, from the "all those other girls, well, they're beautiful, but would they write a song for you?" part, which is my favourite. It's also known as the bridge, but I wanted to write it out, because, like I said, it's my favourite part of the song. She remained in the middle of the arena for the next few songs, beginning with her smash success "Fifteen." For this song, she sat on a stool and picked up a 12-string guitar. She began the introduction talking about her guitar: "This is a 12-string guitar. The difference between a 6-string guitar and a 12-string guitar is that this one has twice as many strings. It's one of my favourite guitars to play. When I first started learning how to play guitar, I was nine. One day, I brought up the subject of a 12-string guitar to my teacher, who told me that I wouldn't ever have to worry about such a guitar, because I could never play one, because my hands would always be too small." Then she began playing that 12-string guitar. And continued with the introduction of the song, "This song is about being 15. When you're too young to learn to drive a car. But you're old enough to fall in love. And old enough to have your heart broken." And as she sang "Fifteen," she slowly revolved around the stage, pushing the microphone stand and the stool she was sitting on in a slow circle, so that by the time she had finished the song, she had faced every point of the arena twice. Who else does something like that?? The last song on this round stage was "the first song you ever heard from me," "Tim McGraw." Again, she completed half of it in the middle of the arena, before she put down her guitar and walked through another section of adoring fans, which again took up a good five to ten minutes, hugging people and shaking hands. I love the way she did that. And boy, am I jealous! She continued with "And I'm back for the first time since then, I'm standing on your street / with a letter left on your doorstep, and the first thing that you'll read...", also known as the bridge, when she returned to the main stage. When she finished, she received a standing ovation (hard for me to judge, as I was on my feet for the duration of the show) from the entire arena for a good ten minutes. Nothing but applause was heard for that time. And in reply, she said, "I'll never forget the way you just made me feel." Which just warms my heart whenever I think of it. The next song also received a nice, long introduction that, unfortunately, I'm not sure I can even attempt to pretend to recreate it here. Just know it was beautiful and that I will think of it on a long, cold winter night and type it up when I think of it in its entirety then. So be on the lookout for that. It was something about how when she was younger, she believed in the fairytale romance, with a prince and a Romeo, but that she's learned that most of love isn't like that. And then she began the opening chords and guitar strums for "White Horse." Which she then followed with the rest of the song. And let me tell you, it sounds even nicer when you can see the singer's face.

After "White Horse," she disappeared and the curtain came down. For some odd reason, I cannot tell you what happened between the curtain's descent and its subsequent ascent. I can, however, tell you that upon its ascent, she sang "Love Story." And not just in any which way. She had the full-blown Victorian costumes on her dancers, just like in the video, and Taylor herself wore a reddish-pink dress of the same time period (or even kind of from the colonial time period), with bows and all of the flummery, as she sang. When it got to the part with "he knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring..." all of the dancers got around her and she performed a live dress-change, with the white dress from the "You Belong With Me" music video appearing and the red dress disappearing. Just like at the CMAs in 2008, right after the release of Fearless. There's something so magical about that song that I can't even describe. Just when you think you're over it, because you've heard it so many times, the magic hits you in between the eyes and you're amazed all over again. Exactly the same as you were the first time you heard it.

Then she disappeared again, after curtseying upon the completion of the song, through a side door in the stage that we were privy to, sitting on the side we were sitting on. When she reappeared, she was wearing a purple sparkly dress, not unlike the red one she wore with "Forever and Always," only, of course, it was purple. Oh, and she had a stiff on her arm. He wore a tux and a bored and lofty expression on his face. I thought he was fantastic and hilarious, as did my sister. The song? "The Way I Loved You." The character she was portraying was torn between the aforementioned stiff and Grant, her bad-boy guitar player, just like in the song. Considering it's one of my favourite Fearless songs, I was very pleased with how she made it come to life. A piano appeared on top of the circular piece of the set, in order for her to accompany herself during the next song, "You're Not Sorry." Behind her, the screen came to life with many differently stylised ways of the words 'you're not sorry' flashing on it. Halfway through the song, the melody and the backing harmonies changed to a different bridge of the song (right after "you had me crawling for you, honey, and it never would've gone away / you used to shine so bright, and I watched all of it fade") with lyrics like "what goes around, comes around, comes around, comes around..." which I can hear and see right now in my mind, but can't particularly translate that to the post (sorry). And to conclude the piece was another change of lyric that I will withhold from you, on account of the fact that, once again, my memory has failed me. The last song of this set, in the purple dress, was introduced like this: "This is "Picture to Burn."" Short, sweet, and to the point. And indeed, it was "Picture to Burn." All of the screens on her set lit up with flames. Except it was the politically correct version, of course. The one with "you won't mind if I say" instead of "I'll tell mine you're gay." But who cares? She's brilliant. When that song ended, all too soon, she merely said, "I love you so much!" and ran off of the stage. The end? Not so fast.

One of her bandmembers, the host of "Crimes of Passion," came on and did some crazy cheer exercises with us, the audience. At this point, I was already hoarse as can be. But apparently not nearly enough yet! And then he left.

Taylor came back on, wearing a black dress that I had first seen at the ACMs in 2008, with a sparkly section on her chest. And she sang the newest single of hers that had been released, "Today Was a Fairytale," from her movie, Valentine's Day. Which, I have proof, she only sings on days that have actually been fairytales: http://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/9651946243. Must've been a fairytale. And I am delighted that we were able to give her that! And then, the last song she played that night she introduced like this: "This song is all about choices. You see, in life, there are good choices. Like choosing to play two shows in Jersey to sold-out arenas of your closest friends. And there are also bad choices. Like this guy, who chose to cheat on me. Which was a bad choice, because I write songs." And then she launched into "Should've Said No." And what was originally a 4:04-long track on Taylor Swift became a 7-and-a-half-minute-long piece, complete with an intense set of drums and a falling sheet of water. You see, in the middle of the song, she and Caitlin, the aforementioned fiddle player, ran up onto the circular piece of the stage and started beating, syncopatedly and rhythmically and angrily and passionately on this set of metal-rimmed, double-sided timpani drums. It was a pattern, complete with her signature head- and neck- and hair-flips and jerks and swishing (if you know what I mean, you know what I'm talking about and I don't have to actually explain it further), the movements that make everyone else dislocate the joints in his/her neck. And at the end, a sheet of water came down, spelling out the word "NO" over and over again, underneath which Taylor finished the song and the concert, to raucous applause and general joy and merriment.

Phew, what a night. May 13th, what a night. And I just got to relive it in its entirety, thanks to you. So, thank you. Of course, this summary was as much for myself as it was for y'all and for this blog. Which can only lead me to say one thing.

Much love, and thank you for the musik!

NBK