Optus Stadium, Perth
Friday October 19, 2018 :
Global superstar, Taylor Swift kicked off the Australian leg of her Reputation Tour in Perth and boy, did she impress. The level of organisation and planning that would have not only gone into the tour but the individual elements within the show itself would have been immense. Taylor and her crew pulled off one of the most breathtaking concerts I have ever seen, each aspect of the performance was flawless and there were so many hidden extras revealed with each song that was played.
But before all of that, the pop-icon had two incredible female fronted support acts lined up for us. While waiting, the pop-star had the stage’s huge screens play videos from her ‘secret sessions’ in the UK and US, music video reactions and even some Taylor Swift trivia!
At 7:15PM the show started with Broods, an indie/electro-pop duo (joined onstage by their band) hailing from New Zealand. They played through all their hits like ‘Bridges’ and ‘Peach’ which the audience loved and utilised the gigantic screens behind them to show off music videos and emphasise the songs. Frontwoman, Georgia Nott danced around the stage in her all-pink outfit and waved to fans in the crowd.
Second of Taylor’s supports was Charlie XCX who has been touring with her all over the world. Charlie brought her all to the stage with an electrifying performance that got even the tiredest of patrons to their feet and dancing to the ever so catchy tunes! She played through her classic songs like ‘I love it’, ‘Boom Clap’ & ‘Break the Rules’ as well as playing her brand new song ‘1999’ featuring Perth’s very own singer-songwriter Troye Sivan! Charlie’s voice was perfect throughout her entire set and her energy seemed to never deplete. The singer also had her own visuals displaying on the huge screens and a three piece band set up behind her, their instruments hidden by custom made green blobs which looked like upside down bras for the female’s and three round balls for the male musician in the middle, I’m sure that was by no mistake. Charlie closed her set with the fan favourite ‘Fancy’ (featuring Iggy Azalea)…by the time the song had finished everyone was buzzing and more then hyped for Taylor to start her show!
The enormous, 33 meter high screens suddenly cracked open and a bright light appeared before Taylor stepped out, dressed in her signature black hooded leotard and looking like she was ready to fight in the ring. She was joined by her ever so sassy dancers and backing singers on stage and smashed out hit after hit, each done with such precision and flawlessness that it looked completely effortless. The custom built stage changed with each song, it moved and took on different shape’s not to mention the incredible 3D effects that were used to create realistic houses, laddering and even huge lifelike snakes striking the dancers at the correct BPM of the song! Snakes played a huge role in the show, having the digital ones were one thing, but being surrounded by them both on main stage and B stage was another, rising up to about 25-30m in height meant they were certainly something to see and the effect they gave was unforgettable.
Taylor had brought a number of special effects and extras to the show, including giving every patron wristbands which were wirelessly controlled to light up in time with the music. The effect was magical and made everyone in the 50,000 strong crowd a part of the performance. That’s not the only extra effect Swift had, there were dancers walking up walls, giant drums, a serpent throne, pyrotechnics, CO2 and confetti cannons and flying across the sky seated in two chariots. The first to take her to B stage was lit up with fairly lights as she sung ‘Delicate’ and set her down ready to smash out one of her biggest ever hits, ‘Shake it off’ before going into a stripped back, acoustic performance of ‘Our Hands Tied’ and ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’. She then boarded her second chariot, a serpent rib cage whilst starting her ‘Bad Blood’/’Should’ve Said No’ medley. It was back to the hits and the band was revealed after the stage morphed into a new shape again, busting out ‘Don’t Blame Me’ with the full band in a gospel reworking fully equipped with fireworks!
Later on in the night she did another stripped back performance on the piano in an effort to reconnect with her fans, playing through ‘Long Live’/’New Years Day’ before the shows finale, showcasing ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together’ and ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’. This was performed in an epic old school, Gatsby-like musical style dancing around the stage and in a fully working fountain, ending the night with a group bow and tonnes and tonnes of fireworks. Then she was quite literally gone, in a puff of smoke!
Overall, Taylor Swifts Reputation Tour concert is probably the most over the top, incredibly precise and well executed show I have ever witnessed. The amount of sheer organisation and thought that had gone into it blew me away and I don’t honestly know if I’ll ever see anything quite like it again. Taylor has certainly set the bar extremely high for similar acts and unless they somehow figure out how to have a dragon that farts rainbows flying around the stadium arena, I don’t think they’ll top it.
Even if you’re not a ‘Swifty’ as Taylor’s fans are called, this is one show you certainly don’t want to miss and I would 10000000000000% recommend it as one of the best live shows in the world.
Reviewer : Nicola Arnold
Photographer : Leon Martin + Nicola Arnold
TAYLOR SWIFT
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CHARLI XCX
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