We'll have a full review of the show in a few hours, but for now here are five thoughts on America's most famous young musician and her touring extravaganza.
1. Strategically, the opening gig of Swift's Los Angeles run was timed perfectly: At the tail end of summer vacation, after camp's done but just before school starts. Staples for many was the final mother-daughter event of the season (with a few random dads looking like lost boats floating at sea), and the girls were abuzz. Few things are more joyous, after all, than a first concert, and for many in the crowd this was a moment they'll recall forever.
2. You know you're in for a musical spectacle when sparks start shooting from the ceiling during the first song, as happened during "State of Grace." Such grand gestures, usually the stuff of finales, occurred often. Every song was a new event: she danced with music box figurines come to life. She floated on the shoulders of her dancers through the crowd and to the opposite end of the arena, where she performed songs close to the cheaper seats. She was lifted over the crowd on a platform -- to the sound of wails below.
3. The equivalent of a touring
4. Still, she left some room for surprises -- which arrived courtesy of two special guests. British singer Cher Lloyd dueted with Swift on Lloyd's hit "Want U Back." And near the end, songwriter
5. Opener
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