by SamB on September 4th, 2008, 6:45 am
Well... I actually really enjoyed it!
The support act was Jamie Scott and the Town, a pretentious British indie act who I had the misfortune to see supporting Kelly Clarkson too...
Anyway, Taylor.
She only did about an hour's set, but was surprised at how good it was. The singing was good enough for the material, certainly far better than I've heard in her TV appearances. She really knows how to work a stage though. She has great presence, and a really strong rapport with the crowd. She had her usual band with her, six members, which includes Caitlin Evanson, who was on ABC's reality show The One!
She did most of the hits (no Tim McGraw, which was odd), and some stuff off the new album, including Change, which I loved, and Love Story, which she said will be the first single in the UK. Indeed, the implication is that the second album will be released here too.
The crowd was a real mixture. A good amount of American girls, and some guys too, who unexpectedly knew all the words! There were also a good amount of British girls with parents, who loved Taylor and screamed all the way through (the girls, not the parents!), a surprising amount of gay guys, and then a fair number of older adults, presumably country fans. She basically did country mixes of most of the stuff, except Teardrops on My Guitar, and also some of the new material was a bit more rocky, though that may just be the live arrangement.
So, overall, thoroughly enjoyable night... And I will be getting the new CD!
