Concert review: Taylor Swift brings Idina Menzel to Tampa, treats fans to the Best Halloween Ever

Somewhere, very close to the big ass catwalk Taylor Swift installed onto the turf at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night, there was a fan holding a sign that read “Best Halloween Ever.” It was a humble banner (compared to the illuminated “1989s” and the very clever “SLAYOR”), but its sentiment surely rang loud and true for every one of the almost 57,000 Swifties who chose a warm autumn night with the current queen of pop over candy corn and bobbing for apples. [Text by Ray, photos by Tracy.]

Frozen totally happened tonight. And 55,000 people sang 'Let it Go' so loudly, it nearly took my breath away. Good times, @idinamenzel ☃

A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Nov 1, 2015 at 1:14am PST

The 25-year-old megastar showed no signs of fatigue from her almost 80-show run and did not disappoint on the final stop of the North American leg of her "1989 World Tour," either. Idina Menzel would stop by — with Swift changing into an Olaf costume — to lead a sing-along of “Let It Go,” and for two hours, RayJay stood and screamed enchanted at this once-in-lifetime chance to party alongside a pop star with a scary good chance to dominate the world.

Her latest album saw release almost exactly one year ago, and the effort has spent all 52 weeks of its existence in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. It’s tied with Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours for fourth of all time and topped only by Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. (84 weeks), Celine Dion’s Falling Into You (59 weeks), and 21 from Adele (78 weeks) when it comes to being camped on the charts.

That’s hefty company. And it’s a lot of weight to throw on the shoulders of someone who probably weighs in at 110 pounds soaking wet.

Ms. Swift was clearly built for this, though.

As she quickly broke a sweat and segued set opener “Welcome To New York” into “New Romantics,” it was clear that the über-cuddly, innocent, and new-to-fame Swift from Fearless, Speak Now, and even Red was dead and gone. What stood confidently onstage as a gaggle of dancers circled and pyro went off was a bonafide woman who has endured every ounce of critical vitriol, Internet troll nonsense, and pop-music peril with grace.

Shit, she’s even made Kanye West into her new BFF.

It’s all worth noting because a look at the last year’s headlines includes several attempts at a Swift takedown. The Washington Post says she’s a bad feminist and SPIN uses Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear’s Twitter to suggest that public opinion is turning on Swift. Both The Atlantic and NPR allege that her video for “Wildest Dreams” is too colonial and misrepresents what Africa really is today. HuffPost detaches the “role model” tag, some random UK Blogger is pissed that Swift is relieved to no longer have to live up to her good girl image. Gawker even published a headline suggesting that — because she hangs out with models and celebrities — Taylor Swift is not your friend.

As the stories get published, they almost feel like legitimate examinations of a pop star’s alleged responsibility to change the course of culture for the better (“with great power comes great responsibility,” after all), but in hindsight the posts seem more and more like the proverbial celebrity dick-riding so many publications are engaging in all in the name of clicks and extended time on a page (let’s make a listicle, y’all!).

What all the would-be Swift-killers are forgetting is that their Goliath is too busy connecting with fans in meet-and-greets, on social media, and in her songs to really listen to or care about what the modern pen pushers are saying (that’s the job of her PR team, after all). There was a point in last night’s show when Swift — elevated above the crowd thanks to the catwalk that was actually a crane — went on a posi-rant after an acoustic take on her 2009 hit "Fifteen," where she listed off the positives and negatives of this hyper-connected, online world we’re living in. “I check in with you all online all the time," Swift explained to her contingent, who were all blinking thanks to free bracelets programmed to be the ultimate in mood lighting. "The thing I like the least about this technology thing is how someone can ruin your day anonymously without having to own it or say it to your face.”
“We are not the opinion of people who don’t know us or care about you,” she reminded them.

It’s an almost painfully obvious universal truth, but in this world, where we opine at the speed of our internet connections, it needed to be reiterated — especially to her fan base. And while the crowd was surprisingly diverse (section 113 contained at least a half dozen 20-something, buttoned-up men singing “Shake It Off” loudly during the encore), it was largely made up of young, assumingly impressionable young girls. Some had their fathers as dates (props to all the dads in costumes), some were dropped off with friends, and some were full-grown ladies there on girls night.

Interspersed in between countless costume changes, Tay ran videos of her own super friends (Lena Dunham, the Haim sisters, Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne, amongst others) talking about life in that inner circle; and outside of the fame, it didn’t seem all that different from our real lives (think chinese food, cats, and more food). A common theme, however, was treating your friends — and yourself — well and being there for the people you care about the most.

Sure, there’s a ton to say about the way Swift’s band was able to muscle up songs like “How You Get The Girl,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “Bad Blood.” Yes, Swift’s voice in real life held up as advertised on her albums despite the rigorous schedule, and the big pop arrangements (“Style,” “I Wish You Would”) from 1989 can truly only be contained by stadiums. But we can save all that for the concert DVD because for all the polish, pomp, and near-perfection oozing out of the always-smiling Swift, she still does something so many performing musicians can’t seem to figure out, and that’s connect with her audience, night after night, on an undeniably real, macro and micro level.

At one point, before stripping “Wildest Dreams” down to a love and longing story propelled by plain piano chords, it was hard to not see Swift as another simple, creative human who writes songs alone (and sometimes with super collaborators, ahem, Max Martin) all for the sake of exploring some feeling she has deep down inside of her person. For all she’s become, she peered into the crowd and looked vulnerable and okay with the fact she was in a stadium with thousands of others sharing a story about not getting the guy and wanting to be remembered by him.

History, obviously, will dictate the way pop culture ultimately remembers Swift. Her fans will grow up, and Swift will either grow with, or apart from them. Her detractors probably won’t go away, but everyone at RayJay on Halloween night likely won’t forget the time they came to see the queen of pop play a show and left with a big ol’ stupid smile slapped across their faces.

And all the little girls and boys paying rapt attention to their heroine? They’re all way better off for it, too.

Setlist
01. Welcome To New York
02. New Romantics
03. Blank Space
04. I Knew You Were Trouble
05. I Wish You Would
06. How You Get The Girl
07. I Know Places
08. Here (with Alessia Cara)
09. Fifteen
10. Clean
11. Love Story
12. Style
13. Let It Go (with Idina Menzel)
14. Bad Blood
15. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
16. Wildest Dreams
17. Woods
———————
18. Shake It Off