Taylor Swift

This past Friday, my sister and I took our cousin Katie to the Taylor Swift concert in Greensboro. It was her very first concert and to say that she was excited is an understatement. I have to admit though, taking Katie was just an excuse for Erin and I because we really wanted to go ourselves. 

One of the best parts of the night was seeing it through the eyes of a child. Katie's excitement was contagious and she said the cutest things like "Are we going in there?!" (as we pulled up to the coliseum) and "I've never seen this many people in my life!!" Here's a shot of Katie in the car, sporting the Taylor shirt I gave her for Christmas:

And her in front of Taylor's tour bus:

The opening act of the show was Kellie Pickler. Since she's from NC, this was the hometown leg of the tour for her. She told the audience that the last time she was in the coliseum was when she was auditioning for American Idol, so it was really special for her to be back. I've always loved her song I Wonder, written about her relationship with her mother. She got emotional at the end and said "I don't usually do that, I think it's because I'm back home with my people!" It was very sweet. Here's a clip:

I've loved Taylor Swift (or Tay Tay as we like to refer to her) from the get-go. I think she's cute and spunky and a good role model for young girls and I respect her for the fact that she plays multiple instruments and writes most of her own music. And now she's headlining her own tour, all at the age of 19.

I was skeptical about the concert, thinking 'are we going to be the only people there above the age of 14?' Well, I have to say, she puts on one heck of a show. I've been to a lot of concerts in my lifetime, and I truly think this might have been the best one I've ever been to. Every second of the show was entertaining. Even during her many wardrobe changes, she showed funny video clips and interviews setting up the next song. She talked to the audience a lot, had incredible energy and sang for well over two hours. We definitely left there feeling like we got our money's worth. Here are some pics.

Her opening marching band act -- You Belong with Me:

Sparkly guitar:

After a wardrobe change, she randomly showed up in the crowd and sang a few songs at the back of the coliseum:

Playing the piano:

My favorite part of the concert? When she came out in a Tyler Hansbrough jersey:

And she definitely went out with a bang. Here's a video of the finale -- Should've Said No:

Here's one last shot of Katie with the souvenir she bought -- a CD signed by Taylor: