Taylor Swift Holds Nothing Back At Gillette Stadium

FOXBOROUGH, MA — If you’ve been to a Taylor Swift show, there’s a good chance that you saw a lot of familiar aspects from the act-structure, light shows in the crowd, and flying. The difference with this show is that everything felt like it was turned up to 11 out of 10 when compared to everything else.

The first of three scheduled Swift shows at Gillette Stadium saw the pop megastar put on one of the most elaborate, over the top, production-intense shows around. The six-act show centered around, as the tour is named, reputation. The angry streak that started the show with a video of Swift criticism from various voices along with "Reputation," "Ready For It?" and "I Did Something Bad," was the start of the tale whose reputation didn't match who they were as a person. That journey continued across 19 songs and two hours before that person was reborn and purged herself of her past life with the words, "And in the death of her reputation she truly felt alive," posted on the video screen.

Production-wise it felt like no expense or idea was spared. Fans received light-up wristbands as then entered the stadium, which lit up in various patterns during the show, including a wave-like effect at some times and during "King of my Heart," some areas of the stadium made outlines of crowns, using only the lights on the bracelets.

On stage was a square video screen angled so the corner was at the center. During the show, it was revealed that what looked like two screens were really two sets of six by three screens that could move around, at times showing where the band was located and various platforms.

Not limited to the main stage, Swift rode a platform to an auxiliary stage on the east side of the stadium before walking over to the other stage on the west side and riding a giant cobra back to the main stage.
For someone who has proclaimed that the old Taylor is dead, she channeled her plenty during the show, at times doing short acoustic sets and taking a seat behind a piano, her show nicely flowed from full-on dance parties like during "Shake it Off" to soft acoustic performances of "So It Goes…," and "Enchanted." For a show starring an artist with a goal of going bigger and better each time, the quiet moments were a pleasant break and brought balance to the evening.

Perhaps the show's only flaw is that the ending felt soft and that could have been fixed by flipping "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things," to the penultimate song and finishing with the confetti soaked, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

Charlie XCX and Camila Cabello were the evening’s openers. Charlie XCX kept it relatively clean for someone who is known to drop a few f-bombs on stage. The Brit's seven-song set was more or less the complete opposite of the more wholesome Swift and mostly served as an energy lift for everyone entering the building.

For Cabello, a former member of Fifth Harmony, the show was another step up in her rising solo career. She got some early cheers if not for her New England Patriots jersey (but don’t tell the fans that she wore a Jets jersey when the tour was at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey). The fact that one of the openers had a recent number one hit in Havana and a top 10 track in “Never be the Same,” showed the strength of the show, which was evident in the early-arriving crowd.

The South Florida native showed good range starting with her latest hit before showing some Latin vibes with “Inside Out” and bringing things down a bit with a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can't Help Falling in Love and “Consequences.” She ended her nine-song set with "Havana."

Both later came back out to sing "Shake It Off" with Swift. Actress/singer Hayley Kiyoko performed "Curious" as part of a surprise appearance.

Photos courtesy of Gillette Stadium / David Silverman