As I pulled into downtown Tulsa last night I saw a steady stream of people flocking to some kind of event. It turned out that just a couple of blocks from my hotel Taylor Swift was in concert at the BOK Center. I was told the concert was sold out and was starting about the time I was checking in. But I was curious at what a Taylor Swift concert was all about, so long story short—I not only got a ticket, but I sat down just a few minutes before she went on stage.
The audience was primed and ready after a couple of opening acts and the sound (i.e. the screaming) was louder than any live venue I can ever remember attending. I’ve been to professional football and baseball playoff games, college and pro football games, and have probably been to 50 large venue concerts (including a Bruce Springsteen concert in L.A. with 100,000 people) but none of them were a match for 13,000 people at that Taylor Swift concert in an indoor arena.
Part of that equation is the majority of the 13,000 in attendance were females—and young girls and teenagers at that. When the screaming started all I could think of was that old footage I’d seen the Beatles playing Shea Stadium back in the day. It was that kind of loud at the start, though thankfully they didn’t sustain that pitch the entire concert so you could hear the music.
It was a fun concert and the production values were through the roof spectacular. Apparently, being one of the current best selling artists has its perks—and benefits. Taylor’s a model and actress on top of being a recording artist who last year sold more records than any other musician or band.. Though only 21-years old, she has a net worth over $50 million and this year Forbes listed her as the #7 most powerful celebrity.
Not bad for a young lady who just a few years ago was writing poetry in Wymossing, PA.
