The RED Tour in Philadelphia. A note about great responsibility

Pick your battles, Taylor Nation.

Here at the Swift Agency, just a guy who’s wondering if you are noticing a slight change, we’re going for more editorial content than just news reporting. Don’t worry, I’m still reporting on the RED Tour. Yes, this is going to be an editorial as well.

The Princess in Red played two nights at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The second night, July 20th, was an eventful one. The songstress had to wait out the worst of a lightning-packed storm before she could start her set. With more rain and inclement weather on the way, the set was cut short a couple of songs. Begin Again and Stay, Stay, Stay were not performed last night. You Belong With Me was performed at the B Stage instead. You can see more pictures at the South Jersey Times.

There are other ways this could’ve turned out, but the Queen of Sparks did what she thought was best for her audience, the Agency, the RED Troupe and the crew. She also has to listen to her tour organizers and the people of the venue. Taylor’s name is upfront, but there’s a lot of people involved. Hopefully everyone understood that safety was the number one concern here. T-Swizzle is very aware she’s responsible for a lot of people. She doesn’t do things like this on a whim. Segue ahead…

There’s power in big numbers. Large masses on the internet can cause polls and contests to swing every way they can. Reddit and 4chan boards have been known to pull their weight before just to flex their muscle or for laughs. They did so when they started voting on a contest that had otherwise very little interest to them. KISS 108 was running a contest to get a fan to meet Taylor Swift. Reddit and 4chan decided to pull their weight behind contestant Charles Z based on a joke from a friend of his, stating that Charles Z was 39 years old and had a thing for smelling girl’s hair. Since that bordered on creepy that was all the motivation they needed. Of course some guys at 4chan sabotaged themselves by posting they were running a script on 500 machines to artificially inflate the voting. The contest has been terminated by KISS 108 and nobody wins. Of course, you can spin any outcome into a win if you’re not playing.

But we are not much better… I understand a lot of fans took offense at the shirt from Abercrombie and Fitch, “more boyfriends than TS” (the shirt has been retired). A lot more took issue at the recent Bad Kids Clothing tank top with some of Taylor Swift’s rumoured exes, including some that were just fabricated (Till, Redmayne, Effron and Montieth never dated Tay – Mayer was just a fling but since she wrote songs about him I guess it fits). However, can we all agree that sending someone death threats is never a good thing? I understand you can say stuff in a fit of anger. We’ve all done it. Just please, don’t write it online. That’s permanent and it festers.

Of course I never believed they’re actually death threats… In today’s world we’ve all gone radical. When we are in trouble, we’re “dead” or going to get “killed”, often by a figure of authority like a boss or a parent. When someone loses in a debate, they got “their ass kicked” when they were just proven wrong. Nowadays, it’s gotten to the point that death is not extreme enough and I’ve heard people use “getting raped” when somebody loses… in a video game. Kids pick up on this stuff. I’m not going to lecture you here. I prefer to stay away from those expressions. It’s not so much because they’re rude but simply because they’re grossly inaccurate. How many times have you heard someone say “I literally died”?

There’s power in numbers. Fan armies know this. I’m just saying, with great power comes great responsibility. Sorry to go all Peter-Parker’s-Uncle-Ben on you, but that’s the truth. Pick your battles. A list of names is no big deal. By the way, Bad Kids Clothing retired Montieth’s name out of respect for his passing. I’d cut them some slack, but that’s just me. Your decision is up to you.

There’s a whole world of big issues out there. Read about Trayvon Martin. Yes, that’s a completely different topic that is making waves because there are laws that should be reconsidered after such an event. Have an opinion. Get involved in that. Ironic messages in clothing fade away in the wash.

The secret song on July 19th was Safe and Sound.

Watch on YouTube

Thanks to Rick Marino for posting! The RED Tour is headed to Foxborough, Massachusetts. Taylor plays the Gillete Stadium on July 26 and 27.

Coming up on the Calendar!

• July 26 and 27: The Red Tour at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. On sale now. More information on Ticketmaster.
• Aug. 1: The Red Tour at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. On sale now. Ticket information here.
• Aug. 2 and 3: The Red Tour at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. On sale now. More information on AXS.com.
• Aug 6: The Civil Wars release their eponymous second album, The Civil Wars.
• Aug. 6: The Red Tour at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. On sale now. Ticket information here.
• Aug. 7: The Red Tour at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On sale now. Ticket information here.

(Sources: South Jersey Times, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bad Kids Clothing)