Taylor Swift treated her audience of 13,000 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Saturday night like chatty girls at a sleepover. “Would it be okay if I stood up here and told you some of my stories?” she asked, centering the show on her latest album, “Speak Now.”
And Swift spoke, filling the stadium with tales of losing love (“Last Kiss,” “Dear John,” “The Story of Us,” “Back to December”), finding love (“Enchanted”, “Fearless,” “Ours,” “Love Story”) and sweet, sweet girl-on-girl revenge (“Better than Revenge”).
Although Swift is 21 years old, her show still called to mind “high school musical,” featuring a crew of dancers who changed roles and costumes rapidly. Although Swift is aging, she still can please her younger fans with the comically exaggerated dancing, acting and her sometimes shallow subject matter. Pyrotechnics were a surprisingly large portion of Swift’s show; sparks literally flew across the stage when she opened the show singing “Sparks Fly”.
Vocally, it is clear that Swift has improved through the years. She’s still no powerhouse Carrie Underwood, but she is able to hit those high notes in “You Belong With Me” with more clarity at than previous shows. And she also seems to have been practicing her piano, ukulele and banjo; all three instruments were played during the show along with her signature sparkling guitar.
Swift was kind to those in the back of the arena, flying out in a balcony during one song and carving a path through the audience to sing on a smaller stage with a revolving tree during another.
Swift and the band took no time at all after the huge red curtain closed to come back on for an encore, singing “Ours,” “Fifteen” and “Love Story.”
Although it might seem silly that Swift has penned songs professing undying love for every boyfriend she has, she captures what every teenage girl feels and isn’t afraid to share it with the world — or a crowd of thousands in Oklahoma City.