I had 7 November in my calendar for a long time because it was the day of Mei’s annual kindergarten concert. As far as I was concerned, it was the only concert on my agenda for the day… until I received a call from my sister around noon that very day.
“Do you want to go for Taylor Swift with me tonight?” she asked.
Wow, would I!
It turned out that my brother-in-law was ill, stuck in bed and in no shape to go and enjoy the concert. So my sister decided to ask me to take his ticket and go with her instead. I felt bad for him but I was also incredibly stoked and duper excited that my sister asked me along! I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a proper adult concert! It might have been for Keane back in 2009! (Ok, maybe Taylor Swift isn’t exactly an adult concert but you get the drift!)
I quickly got the husband’s agreement and after fulfilling my mummy duties bringing the kids for a full-on birthday party, after which I drove like a mad woman to drop them at home, head out and buy dinner for the whole family, then home again for a quick shower before hopping into a cab to my sister’s place so we could drive to the concert together. It was intense, but I made it!
We’re at the 1989 World Tour!
The atmosphere inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium was buzzing even before the concert proper. So many excited people! And as expected, most of the crowd looked rather… young. But we didn’t care! We had some truly great seats (Row 6, would you believe it!) and I took the time to marvel at many elaborate costumes and signs the concert goers came in and with. I quickly concluded that if your sign does not have fairy lights on it, it doesn’t cut it, sorry.
8pm drew close and every time there was a pause in the background music, that was the cue for some hysterical screaming. And then suddenly, after a number of false alarms, Taylor Swift burst onto stage with Welcome to New York. The excitement level went through the roof and like everyone else, we jumped out of our (very expensive) seats, never to sit in them again the whole night. I couldn’t believe she was just there, looking just beyond arm’s reach. We were really so near the stage it was unreal!
Welcome to New York! And welcome to Singapore, Taylor!
I knew you were trouble when you walked in…
I’m not a huge Taylor Swift fan but I realised quite quickly that I knew a lot of her songs since they are always playing on the radio anyway. In fact, it turned out that I could sing along (at least the chorus bits) to 80% of the songs, which was good enough for me! I was singing and dancing with the rest of the crowd to 1989 hits like Blank Space, Style, and Bad Blood, but I was so happy when she performed some of her older numbers like I Knew You Were Trouble (this was a great remix), You Belong With Me, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, and best of all, Love Story. Me and my sis, we were belting it out like the best of them. Better in fact, because unlike hip cool youngsters, we aunties are way past the age of being self-conscious and had no qualms coming up with cheesy dance moves. It was SO MUCH FUN.
The one time I really did feel my age was when Taylor gave the crowd advice about being true to themselves, believing in themselves, and being a person they would want to be with in a relationship. At that moment, both my sister and I realised that we are definitely not her target audience. Erm, being happily married for 10 years with two kids, I’m way past that stage of my life!
But otherwise, it was a GREAT concert. Taylor Swift is really a fantastic performer. She worked it, from the big dance numbers to the small acoustic sets, and the crowd loved her.
Yes, her dress really lit up!
Some of her many costume changes.
One downside to being so far in front was that we couldn’t get the full effect of the electronic backdrop, which my friends seated further away tell me looked amazing. Also, we spent part of the time craning to see Taylor on that amazing stage that stretched out into the centre of the arena and then started rising till it was a few metres off the ground. It was spectacular, and definitely better if we were not on ground level.
But, like I said, the whole concert was awesome fun. Definitely one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time! My sis and I agreed that we should totally do this again soon.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour just ended with the last concert in Melbourne but The 1989 World Tour Live will be available on Apple Music on 20 Dec, so guess who will be reliving the moments online?
Shake It Off!
Till we next meet, Taylor!
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