Here at the Swift Agency, just a guy who appreciates all the throwbacks to the past tours of the Sparkly Dressed, we’re deep in nostalgia this weekend. The Blonde With The Sparkly Snake Microphone decided to commemorate the thirteen show of the tour and encore performance at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland with a very familiar drawing on her hand.
The thirteen, drawn in marker by Andrea Swift, has not been seen since the days of The Fearless Tour. Am I wrong in thinking that it also used to appear during the Speak Now Tour?
Taylor’s surprise songs on the B-stage were acoustic versions of “Mean” on Friday, June 15 and “How You Get The Girl” on Saturday, June 16th.
And as a bonus, here’s Camila Cabello paying homage to a recent trend of going “1, 2, 3, let’s go…” during a pause in “Delicate”. Of course that is usually followed by “b*tch” (don’t ask me, I didn’t start it) but she made sure to cut the clip before that so we’ll never know if she actually said it 😉
Okey, we know it’s not. Taylor has shown she’s always down for a collab, and this one is with yet another country star: the duo Sugarland comprised of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush are dropping their new music video for “Babe”. Jennifer is the wronged wife, Kristian is the nosy neighbor, guest star Brandon Routh is the unfaithful husband and Taylor Swift is the other woman.
(Source: Big Machine Records)
Yes, Taylor makes for a very convincing redhead. I know, she played one in “Bad Blood” but that was another era ago. Director Anthony Mandler brings us a tale as old of time but this one is set in the 60’s. It’s worth mentioning that Taylor might be in the temptress role, but as seen in the video, it’s Routh’s Mad Men-like gentleman character who seems to initiate the affair.
The fact that Taylor is also left behind in the floor of her kitchen lends a lot of gravitas to her situation. In the end, the husband leaves his mistress believing he can come back home and finds himself being left outside in the cold.
The Sparkly Dressed had so many amazing moments performing at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL on Friday June 1st and Saturday June 2nd. Her surprise songs for each night were the classic “Our Song” and the party anthem “22”. She took a moment before her performance of “Delicate” for an intro and a dedication for Pride month.
It’s very brave to be vulnerable about your feelings in any sense, in any situation, but it’s even more brave to be honest about your feelings and who you love when you know that that might be met with adversity from society.
So this month and every month I want to send out my love and respect to everybody who has been brave enough to honest about the way they feel, to live their lives as they are, as they feel they should be, as they identify.
This is a month where I think we need to celebrate how far we’ve come. We also need to acknowledge how far we still have left to go. I want to send my love and respect out to everybody who in their journey, in their life, hasn’t yet felt comfortable enough to come out and may you do that in your own time. May we end up in a world where everyone can live and love equally and no one has to be afraid to be vulnerable and say how they feel.
When it comes to feelings and when it comes to love and searching for someone to spend your whole life with it’s all just really… really delicate, you know?
Taylor Swift at Soldier Field, Chicago IL
June 2nd, 2018
A little shoutout to music maestro David Cook. Yes, she near made me cry too. The Enchantress is often criticized for not speaking her mind (but curiously she’s also criticized for standing up for herself which I could write a book about). I am glad she put her thoughts into words for the world to quote.
I heard it rained during Long Live and New Year’s Day. Somehow that makes me very happy. Chicago was a wish that I had to skip over because sometimes I have to be an adult and prioritize other things in life, but I’d like to think I was there in spirit. Perhaps I’ll get to make another wish down the line, but if not I’d like to think it came true for someone else.
The Blonde With The Sparkly Snake Microphone was one of the big headliners at the BBC Music’s Biggest Weekend in Swansea, Wales. Of course you want to see it… But I can’t really give you the entire show. The BBC has the entire thing on their BBC iPlayer, but there’s a region lock on it. They were decent enough to share at least one gorgeous performance, so feel free to enjoy it below.
One thing that is being a common pattern in all these performances is how much the audience has missed the Enchantress, although you can also feel how much she’s missed her audience as well. The Sparkly Dressed will come back to the UK in June, right after her two big shows in Chicago.
There are things that will remain the same, Taylor Nation.
(Source: @TaylorNation13)
T-Swizzle has started received glowing reviews for her rep tour concert opening on May 8 in Glendale, AZ. Rolling Stone‘s review said “No pop star goes to such absurd extremes to avoid repeating herself, even when repeating herself would be more than good enough.”
It’s also getting some five-star reviews for her rep tour concerts for May 11 and 12 in Santa Clara, CA. The Mercury News reported that Taylor, “definitely lived up to even the loftiest expectations, delivering what was pretty much a perfect pop spectacle”. However, they do think “She harbors a grudge like nobody’s business”. It’s still a great review and you can read the original article here.
The San Francisco Chronicle though she “emerged ready for battle” and “she no longer wants to shake it off – she wants to smash it up” which I think might be reading way too much into it. They also got way too much in the celeb-feuds but I guess some people enjoy that. You can read the original article here.
Here at the Swift Agency, just a guy who doesn’t think Taylor fights personal demons every night, we believe the songs might have been inspired from certain feelings at the time of crafting but have gained a different life of their own. In other words, I don’t think Taylor is reliving her past every time she sings “Love Story” or her heart is breaking up every time she sings “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. The inspiration was a memory, the song itself is not a play by play of the event.
Back in the day, “Taylor Swift” (the album) and “Fearless” were a lot more autobiographical. She’s lessened the catharsis of using songs to get over a breakup and just use her experiences from the past into her songwriting. Songs are no longer individually nor uniquely correlated to one relationship. I think that is also the reason she stopped putting the hidden messages into songs. I we could all forget trying to find the scandal and listen to the song we might enjoy it more.
The setlist has gone through a few changes. I’m now counting “Style” along with “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” as one performance. “Call It What You Want” which was mid set is now before the ending number. I don’t have “All Too Well” being played on Friday but it seems that it was the secret song as “The Best Day” was played on Sunday. I’m just glad that “Long Live / New Year’s Day” is going to remain in the roster.
On news that everyone already knew, the secret song is a thing again and “The Best Day” was dedicated by Taylor to her mom for the concert on Saturday.
