Swift kicks off tour in Omaha
Thursday, March 14, 2013 – Taylor Swift kicked off The RED Tour last night with a sold-out show in Omaha, Neb.
Swift, along with special guests Ed Sheeran and Brett Eldredge, played to a capacity crowd of more than 13,800 fans at the CenturyLink Center for nearly 2 hours. Swift relied heavily on "Red," as 13 of the 17 songs came from that disc.
The show featured two multi-level stages, costumes, dancers, aerialists and changing sets. Swift plays electric guitar, banjo, piano and acoustic guitar and changed costumes 10 times over the course of the evening.
Swift and Sheeran did a duet on Everything Has Changed.
The Omaha World-Herald lauded the show's "super spectacle" that "turned the arena into a massive dance party," while also praising Swift's connection to her fans. "The audience told her how much they related to the songs: They started singing along immediately. For Swift, now is the time to celebrate her ability to sing in the center ring of her own circus. If she keeps writing so skillfully about her feelings, she'll still be around when the red fires of youth fade to quieter shades."
Swift is back in Omaha tonight for her second show.
The North American portion of The RED Tour will play 66 shows (including 13 stadium stops) in 47 cities in 29 states and 3 provinces spanning 6 months in 2013.
The set ilst was:
State of Grace
Holy Ground
Red
You Belong With Me
The Lucky One
Mean
Stay Stay Stay/Ho Hey (The Lumineers cover)
22 (moved to B-Stage)
I Almost Do
Everything Has Changed (with Ed Sheeran)
Begin Again
Sparks Fly
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well (on piano)
Love Story
Treacherous
Encore:
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
More news for Taylor Swift
CD reviews for Taylor Swift
Journey to Fearless DVD
Part Behind The Music style documentary and part concert film, Taylor Swift's new Blu-ray release offers an interesting hybrid approach to the typical live performance video - an approach that hits more than it misses. "Journey To Fearless" focuses on Swift's meteoric rise from aspiring grade-school singer/songwriter to award-winning country and pop megastar while sprinkling in live performances. Hardcore Swift fans will find a lot to love on this single-disc set (which is also »»» |
Speak Now
Taylor Swift has made the best CD of her young career with her fourth CD. The biggest difference is that Swift's singing, spotty on previous releases and live performances, is far far superior here.
Swift wrote all 14 songs here, which like her other albums tend to deal with relationships that have gone south. Swift's songwriting always has been one of her strengths, and that continues to be the case here - both lyrically and musically. Put simply, Swift knows a lot about penning »»» |
Fearless
Taylor Swift took the county world by storm with her huge selling debut and its five hit singles. With a huge marketing push and myspace, Swift was on her way. Kind of like an Avril Lavigne for the teen female country set.
Sophomore slump? There's no indication of that. Swift once again writes her material - all 13 songs here with help sometimes from Liz Rose, Colbie Caillat and John Rich. Swift writes of what she knows about - relationships and teen love come and gone in songs speak to her fans. »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: Steve Earle doesn't rest (on laurels) –
If you didn't realize Steve Earle had a new disc out, "The Low Highway," it would have been no problem realizing that quite and quickly.
That was because Earle started the two-hour show with three straight tracks from "The Low Highway," and he would not be done for the night. The title track of was a midtempo effort... »»»
Concert Review: The Howlin' Brothers leave the radar behind –
The Howlin' Brothers - this trio, in reality, contains no brothers - are about eight years into their career and on their fifth album. To say they've been under the radar screen may be an understatement. You couldn't even say they've been flying under that screen because they have stuck very close to their Nashville environs.... »»»
|
|
Country News Digest
 CST
 CST
Elsewhere in the news
Currently at the CST blogs
Some folks listening to Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison's new duet album, "Cheaters Game," may well exclaim, 'Well, it's about time!' after finally hearing these two talented country singer/songwriters recording music as a pair for the first time. Willis has built quite a following for her independently-minded feminine perspective, while Robison has written hits for the Dixie Chicks ( Travelin' Soldier) and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill ( Angry All the Time), as well as penning the ultimate Willie Nelson tribute, What Would Willie Do? and recording it as a solo act.
... »»»
Last fall, singer/songwriter Steve Forbert dropped the 14th studio album of his 35-year career, the impeccable "Over With You." Critics recognized the album as a return to the form Forbert displayed on his earliest works - 1978's stripped back and personal "Alive on Arrival" and 1979's more lushly produced and commercially accessible "Jackrabbit Slim" - but the fact is that Forbert has never strayed far from their basic folk/rock tenets.... »»»
Over the course of the past 20 years or so, Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller have both experienced a certain rise in their respective rootsy country profiles. Miller has become one of Nashville's hottest speed dial numbers, as an artist, a guitarist-for-hire (a role he has performed for Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Robert Plant, among others) and an intuitive producer (he's currently working with Executive Music Producer T Bone Burnett to provide the soundtrack for ABC's "Nashville" television series).... »»»
Wilderness
"Wilderness" is another twisted menagerie of The Handsome Family songs. Once again, husband Brett Sparks sings their songs, sometimes in a bellowing gravedigger voice, after adding music to wife Rennie's lyrics. This time out, each and every tune is named after an animal, insect or other such nature creature. However, Rennie studies animals the way Flannery O'Connor wrote about humans, which is with the weirdness and character flaws in primary focus. »»» |
Love Is Everything
George Strait may have reached his seventh decade, but he shows zero signs of slowing down. In fact, Strait seems to be getting even more consistent as he gets older. Strait doesn't stray all that far from the formula that has resulted in superstar status. First and foremost, that means his sonorous voice is mixed far above the music, a very good thing. »»» |
Dark Dirty Mile
Jason Boland and the Stragglers have released a new country album that sounds old. This isn't to imply that the sound is aged in a negative way; they have a classic country maturity that isn't heard too much these days with the exception of Jamey Johnson. For those not familiar with the music of Boland, the first track is a great way to decide whether this is your kind of country music. The title track is a mid tempo country song reminiscent of the late Waylon Jennings. »»» |
Golden
Lady Antebellum probably needed a change in direction after "Own the Night" dropped in 2011. The material was overly geared towards taking dead aim at the radio jugular. That isn't the case this time out on the trio's fifth release because most of the songs veer away from being obviously radio fodder (except for the current single Downtown with its soulful beginning and strong vocals from Hillary Scott), but that also doesn't man that this was the right change. »»» |
|
