Fans say “Yes” to Taylor Swift

On Friday, Sept. 2, Taylor Swift performed to a crowd full of people wearing cowboy hats, plaid shirts, leather boots and white dresses. Was this wannabe country crowd pleased with the much anticipated performance? It would seem so.

The country concert at the HP Pavillion was a colorful confection perfect for her audience of mostly young girls.  From the second the curtain was drawn, the screaming crowd was transported to a far away land of a fairytale and they never stopped dancing.

With half of a dozen dancers behind her and glitter falling from the ceiling, Swift certainly looked the part of a princess. She changed outfits at least every other song and each was gorgeous. At the start of the show, she wore a sparkling gold flapper dress to get the entire audience’s attention. Each following outfit, of course, was highly fashionable. However, the best one was the beautiful blue gown donned when she slowed down the concert by playing “Back to December” on the piano.

She started the night off strong, rising up through the bottom of the stage singing “Our Song,” a definite crowd pleaser. The second she began singing, the crowd did as well. Most of the playlist came from her latest album, “Speak Now,” released in 2010.She mixed in a few songs from her first album, however, it does not matter how old a Taylor Swift song is because it never actually ages.

Towards the end of the concert, Taylor walked across the pavilion to a slowly spinning platform where she sat and played songs solo. She was given a ukulele, instead of a guitar, and surprised the audience by singing “Good Riddance” by Green Day, which happened to be better than the original.

After “Good Riddance,” she performed the song “Better than Revenge,” which was possibly the most enjoyable song of the evening. As she sang, sparks lit up the stage. The crowd gave the applause that song deserved by cheering more than any of the other songs she performed. Following was the song “Speak Now,” which was appropriately acted out by playing a pretend wedding on stage.

Right before the encore, she belted the song “Long Live.,” which she explained to the audience was different than her other love songs. This particular song is about preforming for fans and how much she enjoys it. It was a good performance, but not good enough to convince the crowd that the show was officially over.

Almost the entire stadium stayed in their seats, cheering, after the song was sung. She came out again to nobody’s surprise and ended with “Love Story.” She ran around the stage while the dancers hung from the ceiling by ropes doing tricks. It was the perfect way to end such an amazing night.

Her connection to the audience and the genuineness of her words truly made the concert great. Each time a love song was performed, the audience could feel her pain, hate the men who made her cry and love the ones who made her smile. Swift sang her life away on that stage and it was noticeable. Her entire heart was put into making a great show and teaching girls to not make the same mistakes as she had.

Swift gave thanks continuously and showed much love to her fans. Unlike most other artists, she seemed to really mean it. Her embarrassed face every time the crowd roared let the audience form a connection. She was not just an incredibly famous star that night. She was a sincere and real person who everybody could relate to.

Even though her voice was naturally getting weaker as the concert went on, she never gave up trying to sing her hardest. When her voice got quieter, the crowd saved her. It seemed like every person in the pavilion knew every word to every song, even the old ones.

Taylor Swift’s fans seemed to be more than pleased at how the concert played out. She is an amazing performer and a dedicated singer. That night at the HP pavilion will always be remembered by nothing other than magical.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Rocks Christmas

The stage is dark. The first chord strikes, the music swells slowly. The crowd waits silently. With an explosion of sound, the lights illuminate the stadium with color—and the head banging begins.

On Nov. 29, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra brought its incredible presence to HP Pavilion in San Jose. Most classical orchestras do not appeal to the teenage population; however, this show supersedes all expectations and preconceived notions about classical music. The orchestra combines elements of symphonic metal with classic Christmas carols, most notably the “Carol of the Bells” often heard on the radio. The three-hour show began with a series of Christmas songs linked together by a story of an angel discovering the secret of the magic behind Christmas. The narrator’s voice rivaled that of Morgan Freeman; it cast a spell upon the audience, the deep and gravelly vocals of a true storyteller.

Besides the incredible music, the lights show was perfectly choreographed to the music—they took 15 hours to set up. Pyrotechnics were also employed, shooting fire into the air during climactic moments of songs and sending a blast of heat into the audience. In a particularly powerful song entitled Christmas Eve/Sarajevo, screens flashed images of helicopters overhead and leaders declaring war. The orchestra stayed true to its message of peace on earth and a perpetual Christmas spirit, asking the audience to acknowledge the U.S. Armed Forces and donating one dollar from each ticket to Second Harvest Food Bank.

The musicians themselves performed dynamically, impressing the audience with their incredible stamina. They ran back and forth across the stage, playing emphatically with boundless energy. The men all wore long hair perfect for flipping, which they took full advantage of; they also sported tailcoats. At one point, a violinist and guitarist played on a platform that rose far above the audience, surrounded by smoke and lights. Though some songs required vocals, most were instrumental. The songs with vocals had a variety of singers, all with beautiful and clear voices.

The orchestra has just released its new CD, Nightcastle, and will go on tour this spring. Don’t miss the chance to go! In the meantime, get in the Christmas mood by listening to The Lost Christmas Eve album. Make sure you check out “Wish Liszt (Toy Shop Madness” and “Wizards in Winter!”

Concert Review: P!nk

On Thursday September 17, a large and anxious crowd grew outside the HP Pavilion. Every kind of person imaginable, children, teens, young adults, mothers, and grandmothers, pushed their way through the never ending line to enter the P!nk concert. Some people who were die-hard P!nk fans dyed their hair pink, wore pink tutus, or even long pink eyelashes. Outside, hip-hop radio station 94.9 representatives took pictures of fans coming into the pavilion.

Opening for P!nk was the Ting Tings, notorious for their songs “Shut Up and Let Me Go” and “That’s Not My Name.” Though these British rockers put on a good performance, P!nk rightfully stole the show. She descended from mid stage for her grand entrance, singing one of her newest songs. Her tour, named Dollhouse, had an appropriately decked out stage with slides and clown balloons, creating the mood of a dark, scary dollhouse.  All of her backup dancers were dressed as sinister dolls who danced in perfect unison with her.

To keep things interesting, P!nk made eight costume changes, from body suits and band jackets to baggy jeans and lingerie. She was not the only thing changing though, for her stage furniture changed four times to reflect the song she was preparing to sing.

P!nk’s dancers surprised all with some amazing acrobatic tricks like swinging on bars in mid air and twisting through cloth. The tricks kept everyone’s hearts racing and voices screaming as the music penetrated their bodies. The music she sang not only consisted of her own, but also included Crazy by Gnarls Barkley and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Finally, for her encore, she sang “Get the Party Started,” a classic song from her first CD M!ssundaztood. The concert ended around 10:45 pm, giving fans a generous three-hour show. Most people seemed to have an amazing, unforgettable time that was well worth the late Thursday night. P!nk is now off to her next destination, Texas. Hopefully all other performances will be as appreciated as her San Jose performance was.

Concert Review: Britney Spears

Britney Spears. A typical concert? Far from it, actually. With entertainers, sets and costumes like you wouldn’t believe, Britney Spears put on quite the show April 12, Easter Sunday, at HP Pavilion.

The concert started with the opening act from The Pussycat Dolls. They pumped up the audience quickly by performing their most popular songs, including “When I Grow Up,” “Beep” and “I Hate This Part.”

Next, the circus invaded the stage – literally. For about a half hour, circus acrobats, dancers and gymnasts entertained the audience with amazing performances. Most people didn’t lose their interest during the act, but everyone was still waiting for the main attraction, Miss Spears.

An introduction with several guests, including Perez Hilton, displayed on a huge TV screen that circled around the entire stage. Then as the TV screen rose, lowered on a small platform in the middle of the circle stage was none other than Britney. Cheers and screams filled the air in a matter of seconds as she began belting her opening song, “Circus.”

From there the concert took off in quite the Britney Spears fashion – impressive and chaotic. All night, dancers surrounded her on stage, came down from the ceiling on hula hoops, ropes and chains, and during her costume changes they entertained to various prerecorded songs by other artists while the set was prepared for the next segment. The dancers were all in circus character costumes; there was even a man on stilts for some of the show.

The set maintained the circus theme for most of the concert, with pieces like circus cages and hula hoops, and the colors included gold, white, blue and red, traditional circus colors. The show also had several magic acts. One of my favorite ones was during “Ooh, Ooh Baby.” Spears went in a box divided in three parts from which the middle section was moved to the side while she was in it, and we saw Britney divided into three parts. Then they put the box back together and she came out, obviously in one piece. I have also never seen such a huge set come down from the ceiling. Empty frames, couches, chairs and an umbrella were all lowered from the lighting structure above the stage for different songs. During “Every time,” one of her slow songs, Britney sat on the handle of a giant umbrella that hung above center stage.

Costumes were, of course, outrageous and extravagant. She spent the concert in a variety of get-ups, most of which could be found in a trampy Halloween shop, which is typical for Britney. The classic “sexy cop” getup was worn during “Womanizer” and for the majority of the night she was in black glittery lingerie. Her most conservative outfits included a long red circus-style coat over her black lingerie and a glittery silver dress that hung just shy of her knees.

Almost everything was in the circus theme…except for the music. The concert was supposed to promote her Circus album, yet only three songs were from her latest CD. The rest of the songs were from Blackout and there were a few from her older albums as well. Annoying? Somewhat. It’s not that her Blackout album was bad, but the tour is for Circus. It couldn’t have been a Circus tour without the three songs she performed – “Circus,” “Womanizer,” and “If U Seek Amy” – but many well-liked songs from the album, such as “Phonography” and “Mannequin” were left out. Also, while it is known that she lip syncs, she didn’t do the greatest job covering it up. As my sister, Carolyn Sisto, said, “She could not have been belting out those notes with that little of lip movement.”

For the most part, the concert was great. However, there was one major flaw that couldn’t be hidden: her connection with the audience. Those who attended the concert will not be able to forget her attempted greeting, “What’s up Sacramento?!” Well…at least she said a city that’s in California, right? She later fixed the mistake by twice addressing us as, “San Jose,” which seemed to undo the damage. She was not very interactive with the audience, though, so those who attended felt detached from the singer.

No matter what goes on in Spears’ personal life, no one can deny that she is quite the performer. Even with the things that went wrong, the crowd still loved her, sending her off with chants of “Britney!”