Alive in the moment

Infatuation is on both sides of the stage of the sold-out show.

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published January 27, 2008

TAMPA - Mostly, Taylor Swift thrashed around stage like a pajama partier hopped on Red Bull and cookie dough.

But sometimes, she'd stop. She'd take deep, heaving breaths, grasp her heart and stare at the sold-out crowd filling the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on Saturday night. She'd mouth the words you weren't supposed to see.

"Oh my God."

Maybe it was the realization that, at 18, she's a double platinum country superstar. That Our Song, which she wrote for a ninth grade talent show, topped the charts for six weeks. That she's up for a Grammy this year against skilled acts like Amy Winehouse.

Maybe it was just the moment.

Swift is part giddy fan girl, part licensed therapist. When your no-good boyfriend dumps you for the trash bag in his algebra class, she'll counsel you about self-esteem - then help you egg his house.

Her performance was an hour-plus of youthful energy. In a slinky black dress and cowgirl boots, Swift slammed her blond sheepdog hair like a Seattle headbanger. Under pressure, she was an old pro. When a whole string blew on her glittery pink guitar, she didn't flinch.

Her appealing voice dripped with honey, but her limitations showed - loud, long notes were often reduced to shrill shouting.

But her fans, teenage girls in denim and Forever 21 tops, didn't care. They were too busy shouting back, because they understood Miss Swift all too well.

Swift's songs, all of which she wrote or co-wrote, are about cute boys named Corey and Drew. About blue jeans and blue eyes. About a stupid "redneck heartbreak" who won't let her drive his stupid truck.

They're delightfully innocent. They're nanny-nanny-boo-boo. They're ttthhbbppttthhh!

In Picture to Burn, she sang, "So go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy. That's fine. I'll tell mine you're gay."

After Should've Said No, a nose-thumb to a cheating boyfriend, she stood in the center of the stage, spotlight draping her, arms outstretched and triumphant. A bedroom mirror dream come true.

She gossiped with the crowd about boys before her hit, Teardrops on My Guitar. She slowed things to a lull for Tim McGraw, her debut single. She sang of self acceptance on A Place in This World.

And in those heart-grab moments, she'd get sincere and throw out a piece of well-meant, Chicken Soup for the Soul advice.

"Don't change! Stay awesome! Stay beautiful!"

Or, "If you want something bad enough, you have to go for it, work for it."

And, "Maybe if we work hard at it, love can really last forever!"

Then, satisfied, she'd get back to the matter at hand. Want to hear about a boy who did her wrong?

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

[Last modified January 27, 2008, 00:01:24]