CONCERT REVIEW: Taylor Swift brings her marathon present to Toronto

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Taylor Swift

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Rogers Centre

Thursday evening

RATING: ***1/2 (3.5 out of 4)

Swifties will need to have felt like that they had died and gone to heaven on Thursday evening as Queen T- as in Taylor Swift, the most important pop star on this planet – arrived at Rogers Centre to launch the primary present of a six evening residency with a marathon, three and a half-hour live performance that includes 45 songs from her 18 yr profession.

Her unprecedented run on the stadium, persevering with Nov. 15-16 and Nov. 21-23, noticed the 34-year-old singer-songwriter’s feverish followers use sequins in new and attention-grabbing methods.

In reality, as soon as you bought off at Union Station and made your means down Bremner in direction of the stadium it was a sea of sequin on tops, skirts, pants, jackets, blazers, boots, sneakers and even within the beards of a few of the males (many who have been carrying Kansas Metropolis Chiefs jerseys in assist of Swift’s professional soccer beau Travis Kelce who was noticed at native Mexican road meals restaurant Silent H on Wednesday evening).

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Swift, in the meantime, arrived in type on Thursday evening, as you may count on of pop royalty, with a police escort proven on stay TV and even the police horses close to Rogers Centre have been carrying friendship bracelets that are famously traded at Swift’s reveals.

Her look on stage was equally dramatic together with her dancers carrying outsized pink and orange head clothes that swayed like monumental flower petals whereas Swift sang Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince on high of an elevated stage adopted by Merciless Summer time.

“Toronto! We’re so again!” proclaimed Swift who appreciated the loud and prolonged screaming from followers all evening lengthy.

“That is the primary Eras Tour present in Canada.”

In reality, Swift is wrapping up her Eras Tour, which started final March in Arizona, with six reveals in Toronto adopted by two reveals in Vancouver subsequent month.

“Because of this folks love Canada,” she talked about afterward as followers gave her one other lengthy spherical of applause following Champagne Issues on piano.

“We’ve solely get to do that present eight extra instances and I assure you we are going to do not forget that second.”

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There have been loads of bells and whistles all evening lengthy like that elevated stage, fireplace works and fireplace bursts, a big video display screen cut up into three, extremely stunning designer garments with plenty of sparkle, vigorous dancers, plus the Folklore home lined in moss the place she sang on the roof and a second which gave the impact that she had jumped in a pool beneath her stage.

Even when I by no means drank the purple Koolaid to turn out to be a full-blown Swiftie, I may recognize Swift’s many musical skills – she’s additionally obtained a killer cat stroll stomp – and simply basic good girlness, though I sort of preferred her higher when she was Miss Saucy Pants on such standouts as The Man, You Have to Calm Down, We Are By no means, Ever Getting Again Collectively, I Knew You Have been Hassle, Prepared For It, Look What You Made Me Do, Clean House, Shake it Off, Dangerous Blood, Anti-Hero, Vigilante Sh-t and the show-ending Karma.

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I additionally dug the hopelessly romantic Swift on such songs as Merciless Summer time, Lover, You Belong To Me, Love Story, Model, and Lavender Haze.

Opening act Gracie Abrams, daughter of Hollywood hitmaker JJ Abrams (Star Wars, Star Trek), proved to be the right approach to begin the evening with a 40-minute set that noticed the joyous singer-songwriter gracefully navigate Swift’s enormous stage in a lovely white robe that Swift herself may have worn.

Abrams, who’s courting Irish actor Paul Mescal (Regular Folks, Gladiator II), appeared to wish to impress Swift as a lot as the group saying out loud that she wished her to listen to backstage.

She was additionally thrilled about getting a 2025 Grammy nomination for the track Us.

SET LIST

Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince

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Merciless Summer time

The Man

You Have to Calm Down

Lover (spoken intro; prolonged outro)

Fearless (shortened)

You Belong With Me

Love Story

22

We Are By no means Ever Getting Again Collectively

I Knew You Have been Hassle (shortened)

All Too Nicely (10 Minute Model; spoken intro)

Enchanted (shortened)

…Prepared for It?

Delicate

Don’t Blame Me (shortened)

Look What You Made Me Do (prolonged outro)

Cardigan (shortened)

Betty (shortened; spoken intro)

Champagne issues (spoken intro)

August

Illicit affairs (shortened)

My Tears Ricochet

Marjorie (shortened)

Willow (prolonged)

Model (shortened)

Clean House

Shake It Off

Wildest Desires (shortened)

Dangerous Blood (shortened)

However Daddy I Love Him / So Excessive College

Who’s Afraid of Little Previous Me? (shortened)

Down Dangerous (shortened; with “Fortnight” outro)

Fortnight

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived (shortened)

I Can Do It With a Damaged Coronary heart (prolonged intro)

My Boy Solely Breaks His Favourite Toys / This Is Why We Can’t Have Good Issues
(mashup on guitar; spoken intro)

False God / ‘tis the rattling season (mashup on piano)

Lavender Haze

Anti‐Hero

Midnight Rain

Vigilante Sh-t

Bejeweled

Mastermind

Karma (prolonged outro)

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