Seattle Gay News du lieu suivant : Seattle, Washington • 20

MUSIC SWIT continued from cover it from Capitol Hill The 60000 of them packed the sports stadium early and sat through a pair of opening acts both forgettable (thus 1 won't bother mentioning their names) and behind the scenes videos of Tay Tay prepping for 1989 World Tour" Rather promptly at 8:45 pm Swift opened the mega show with to New a track from the superstar's lat est multi platinum album 1989 Wearing a purple zebra print skirt black bustier (both sparkly of course) and silver sequined biker jacket the tall and lanky phenom strutted a catwalk that stretched about half the length of the football field The NYC theme contin ued with as illuminated graphics of and 42nd hung from the stage rafters or Swift changed into a black shorts shiny black blazer combo and worked the runway like a pro but it was the next song that was the highlight of the en tire concert at least for me It was Knew You Were It was a darker edgier more dramatic and rock tinged version of the pop song that included firebombs going off along both sides of the red lit catwalk it was LED rimmed umbrellas and Swift prancing around in a rosy pink ensemble spotlighted Wish You while door props were cleverly intertwined with sharp choreography during Know featuring the singer sporting a white shorts top outfit withthigh high black boots is good to be back in ex claimed Swift looking out to the crowd "I played shows in Seattle for the last ten years of my life at the Tacoma Dome and Key she continued Just to put that in perspective four times as many people came to CenturyLink ield than Key Arena As a reward to everyone for coming to the show and cheering loudly especially the pre teen girls behind me who squealed uncontrollably from beginning to end Swift vowed to bring out special guests at some point during the performance There were rumors that Ed Sheeran would appear pos sibly Macklemore but it turned out to be MTV VM A nominee etty Wap a New Jer sey based hip hop artist with a smash single sight though it should be noted that Justin Timberlake did something similar during his concert at Key Arena early in 2014 But that was Key Arena and this was a damn soccer field! Tay also plucked out from her Grammy winning Album of the Year earless though she tweaked it by giving it an electro pop arrangement while tapping on a digital keyboard Russell Wilson and girlfriend Ciara were additional special guests introduced Taylor Swift performs during her World at CenturyLink ield on Aug 8 photo by Sy BeanThe Seattle Times ill wf sRfife iarag isSHas Oral? Is A "V' I I 't flK SAJIk currently on the charts called This set up a duet with him and Swift which been off the hook but instead was just shy of awful a big hit from the country turned pop Speak Now record was played acoustically as Swift admitted she hadn't performed it in a while As she strummed her guitar and sang the catwalk rose to about 30 feet in the air and twirled slowly at 360 degrees it was an impressive by Swift who strolled the runway as the audience screamed with excitement a little tired of Ciara making the rounds but I will never tire of seeing Russell Wilson in a pair of jeans too much sexiness go ing on there or Swift was carried around the stage on a portable transparent platform by her all male dance troupe Sad ly Kendrick rap bit was trimmed from the live version Everybody sang along to Are Never Ever Getting Back To as the blonde star rocked out on an electric guitar The grand finale was It and instead of slipping into a cheerleading uniform like she does in the music video Swift opted for a frilly green skirt with matching top and large black belt while all twelve of her dancers wore dapper grape colored shorts with matching suits It was playful as it ought to be and a series of colorful fireworks decorated the sky at the conclusion of the song as the runway twirled around and around The challenge of playing to a mass audi ence in this case 60000 is to give ev eryone from the floor level to the nosebleed section an experience that equals the value of their ticket and everything it took to get to the concert Judging by all the happy faces and positive dialogue exchanged by fans ex iting the stadium and the long lines at the merchandise tables' say Taylor Swift did an excellent job of entertaining the crowd She performed for 25 hours with no exten sive breaks or intermissions there was an occasional video of celebrity gal pals fawn ing over her as if been elected their sorority president though 1 can probably let that slide On the flipside the LED bracelets that we received upon entering Century Link ield which flickered in tandem to the music was a brilliant addition to the show watching a sea of blue green 'silver orange and red lights fill the stadium made for great scenery It was a spectacle a dazzling show with a lot of high points and love her or not the only female artist in the world currently performing in sold out soccer venues That and only 25 years young 1989 World continues through mid December with dates in the US Singapore China and Australia MENZEL continued from cover Ms Menzel pretty much filled the Para mount with one of the widest ranges of au dience members that could be imagined Everything from little girls in Disney cos tumes up to the most devoted of there was a princess every where you looked Appearing more than half an hour late Ms Menzel burst onto the stage and opened her with the song from WICKED Her powerful instrument in full belting mode she easily reminded us why the number is indeed a show stopper and why Ms Menzel won the Tony Award in 2004 for the role of Elpha ba Ms Menzel explained to the au dience she was feeling frisky but that the men in the audience are and then the reason for her de lay She explained how she ran late for the plane only to find the doors already closed at the gate She tried to bribe her way onto the plane with you know any little girls who like rozen!" but that it work But she made it and that was the im portant factor She then continued on with a trib ute to one of her mentors and sang Rain on My The raf ters in the theater rang easily! She eventual ly sang one of her songs from RENT Me or Leave This song is a duet so tra ditionally Ms Menzel descends to the audi ence and mingles selecting random people to sing the alternative lead The moment she started walking down the stage steps how ever audience members rushed towards the stage causing her to retrace her steps back onstage She went down the other side with a that was commentary only to be received on the other side by people blocking her way with offerings of flowers posters proclaiming their devotion or just wanting their five minutes of fame Once back on the stage Ms Menzel turned up the volume and showed the au dience why she is beloved She sang an al most lullaby version of Jonathan Day But The song is haunting enough and when Ms Menzel lends her powerful vocal talent there be a dry eye in the house She continued with songs from women that influenced her in cluding Joni Mitchell and Ethel Merman Then with complete ease she moved into her hit song from IfThen Start ing The concert concluded with of course the mega hit from the Disney movie ro zen it Here again Ms Menzel went out into the audience and selected a little girl dressed like a princess from the first few rows and invited her to come up on stage On the way back Ms Menzel select ed another little girl and the three of them went up on stage together Within moments children from all over the theater were climbing over seats and running to the front of the theater Like an expert Ms Menzel handled it perfectly and sang the song along with the children bet your parents tired of this yet are she joked hold ing the microphone for each child to sing a verse of the hit song The encore came with a hit song from yesteryear was the it when I was a little Ms Menzel explained She proceeded to sing the hit song from Annie During this number the guy next to me literally pulled his phone out of his pocket six sepa rate times to record the encore The final time sure my voice was preserved saying your fucking phone away Enough is Ms Menzel hear me It is without a doubt that audiences love Idina performances They will scream their devotion without hesitation not realizing this is a concert not a conversation And not to love? Her voice belts easily from one end of the theater to the other Her choice of music has proven to be extremely popular The parts she has played have proven to be wonderful role models and John Travolta naming her assured that the world would never get her name wrong again SPECIAL NOTE: Idina Menzel will be appearing in the musical IfThen in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre November 3 8 Idina Menzel as Elphaba in Wicked wwwbroadwaycom a 'fs I A 4 Seattle Gay News August 14 2015.