Sparkles in their lives. we attended Taylor Swift’s monster concert in Paris

The Paris Olympics are only a few weeks away, but the first performance took place this Thursday, May 9, in Nanterre. For 3 hours, Taylor Swift kicked off the European leg of her Eras Tour, taking on more than forty titles (including a few short ones) and multiplying costume and set changes with the stamina and skill of a top-level athlete.

“You make me feel powerful.” It was with these words that the 34-year-old American responded to the long cheers of the crowd a few minutes after her appearance in a sparkling red paddle (signed by Versace) that she literally: fits into his palm. 42,000 “Swifties” (including 30% foreigners) are dedicated to his cause, generously exchanging “friendship bracelets” (these little jewelry made with beads that spell out the titles of her songs). Fans who will continue to flock to the many merch stands located on site (Swiftconomics does a good job, thank you) and are given small flashlights with multi-colored LEDs that light up in unison upon entering the room. concert, adding stars to the glitter the star already sprinkles on their outfits and in their eyes.

Taylor Swift is certainly powerful. After a long struggle to seduce the French public (in 2011 he failed to fill Zenit and in 2019 he gave one date to Olympia before he had to cancel concerts due to the epidemic), this time the musician plays four sold-out nights in Nantes, followed by two date in Lyon in June.

Minutes before the deadline, Taylor Swift appears under one of the butterfly-wing-style drapes held by her dancers and launches into excerpts from her seventh album; Lover (2018). Three titles as a reminder of the holy trinity she embodies today, an American icon (Miss Americana and the Prince Charming), pop (irresistible Cruel summer) and feminist (The man, You need to rest), after which he returns to his beginnings and begins a long “journey” through his many incarnations, in these “eras” that followed each other during his 18-year career.

Country princess (obviously) with a brilliant acoustic guitar, deeply hurt by love Very good appeared on the album Red In 2012, inspired by her break-up with Jack Gyllenhaal, and here came a 10-minute version to which the crowd knows every word, a fairy princess in a dress the color of warthog or fresh butter, a (good-natured) venomous pop star with a snake. emblem (time: Reputation:conceived in 2017 as a response to her feud with Kanye West – Kim Kardashian… Taylor Swift traverses one incarnation as a pop superhero at breakneck speed, roaming alone or with her band and dancers, a stage that. like a star track (or sports track) emerges towards the middle of the pit, develops with them on a podium that rises or falls over the songs, disappearing during intermediate changes (necessary, we doubt, to cover such a distance in the show) more or less successful (a bit 1.0 with guitar solos, or videos of flowers or stars).

The highlight of the show

It is enough to constantly attract the attention of those who thought it would take a long time. Just an ethereal folk sequence brings the album titles together Folklore And Evermore, published during the pandemic, he shows a decline in performance. We float a bit to the star’s appearance on the roof of a life-sized wooden chalet (with safety harnesses matching her dress) and this sequence where she twirls around in yellow like a tribute to Stevie Nicks. Fortunately, the pipes 1989 (spill it Bad blood) come to wake up concert, live for the first time before the highlight of the show, headlining commentary Section of Tortured Poetseleventh album released on April 19. The impression of attending a long musical comedy is emphasized. Taylor Swift in a flawless corset dress, the skirt of which is emblazoned with the lyrics of her songs (“I love you, it’s ruining my life– “I Love You / It’s Ruining My Life”, taken from the single Two weekswill literally scream with him), appears on a porous bed in a psychiatric hospital, accompanied by a mini-army of drums. The smallest person who ever livedand strips down on stage to perform as a cabaret dancer (the subject of a future video). I can do with a broken heart.

Self-proclaimed “female revenge musical” thus (“A musical comedy of female revenge,” between the lines, Taylor lashes out at more or less famous exes who shared her life), which makes light of the songs sung on the record that don’t really produce any hits. This feeling that all of Taylor’s titles are a little alike is confirmed by two intimate surprises, one. Paris performed a solo on acoustic guitar, followed by Loml with a piano sound that, while worthy of reminding us that Taylor Swift makes her songs on instruments she really knows how to play, they sometimes only involve a grid of often similar chords, and a little limited.

In their bubble

It is not important. the latest “era” that Taylor Swift chooses to travel through is Midnightalbum was released in 2022 with R’n’B accents, with the star making headlines in a midnight blue bodysuit, recording watchful crazy performed to a sultry choreography as the evening’s sexiest moment. But Taylor Swift is no Madonna or Britney, and remains a star of her time, much less sexualized. His looks are more knowledge than seduction, and that is his whole secret. As he says, he wrote his songs based on past episodes and emotions in his life, hoping that they would echo the songs of his audience. The words of the mostly female crowd proved him right. for three hours it was their heartache, their familiar and common wounds, their desire for revenge, their consolation andempowerment that his admirers expressed in general communication.

A cathartic bubble, a wonderland where this new kind of Alice takes them away from the real world for three hours; no clear political allusion, not even the most consensual, is made by the artist who says it might suggest it anyway. American presidential elections. We can criticize it for lacking too much soul, a little suspense, stolen moments that would enhance the already incredible charm. But becoming a champion is not based on improvisation. We walk out of a Taylor Swift concert without boredom or revelation, a glow on our cheeks and bracelets on our wrists, perhaps wanting to listen again to some of the songs whose melodies remain undeniably well-crafted. A commendable performance.