Sparks Fly in Taylor Swift Concert at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field

Sparks Fly in Taylor Swift Concert at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field There are some artists out there who are great qualified to working in the studio. And, when it comes to live performances, they leave much to be desired. Taylor Swift is certainly not one of them.

June 18, Taylor took her "Speak Now" Tour to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and performed in front of a crowd of an estimated 52,000 fans. And all in all, the show was remarkable and worth every penny. There were three opening acts together with Danny Gokey of American Idol fame, Randy Montana and South Carolina Country/Rock band Need to Breathe. Swift took the stage at about 8:45 to the resounding screams of adoring fans. Swift started the show with her hit "Sparks Fly" and from the very starting it was definite that this was going to be a big, theatrical production. In addition to belting out most of the titles featured on the "Speak Now" album, the country superstar delighted her audience with a few hits from the past together with "Our Song," "Love Story" and "Fearless." Swift went straight through a amount of wardrobe changes but didn't leave the crowd with the irritating downtime that sometimes comes with them. During wardrobe changes and changes to the set, fans were treated to instrumental renditions of her songs, a tap dancing chimney sweep reminiscent of an old Hollywood musical and the dance stylings of a excellent ballerina. Overall, the drama and artistry of the entire output came across practically as if it were a play with a remarkable storyline. But then again, I guess that shouldn't be surprising when the concert headliner truly writes her own songs. Possibly the most memorable parts came During the performances of her hits "Haunted" and the aforementioned "Fearless." While Swift had shown her mastery of discrete other instruments at separate points During the show, she used "Fearless" as an opening to showcase her skills with a ukulele while sitting under a immense white and purple glowing tree. And, with the scene set to compliment the tone of "Haunted," she forcefully pounded a large bell ringing out in accord with the song's qualified violin intro. Swift sang the fun and inspirational "Long Live" as her pre-encore show closer giving a shout out to the city of Pittsburgh. When all was said and done, the show was nothing short of amazing. While the operators of the venue itself could have been great prepared in terms of organization, every aspect of the show itself went off without a hitch. Never before have I seen such a wonderfully creative live performance. Sparks Fly in Taylor Swift Concert at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field

James Taylor Teams With Son Ben Taylor For 2011 US Tour

Would you want to go to a concert with your dad?  Here's an even creepier question, would you want to perform a concert with your dad?  For folk singer Ben Taylor the answer to that question is yes.

Ben's father, legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor, is set to tour the U.S. next year and he's bringing his son along as the opening act.

Concert Dates 2011

The father and son tour gets underway Feb. 26 Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Brady Theater.  The Taylor's final show is set for April 2 in Toledo, Ohio at the Stranahan Theater.

Originally, Ben was only going to play with his father at only eight shows. Probably due to an onslaught of positive responses, Ben's appearances have more than doubled.  The son will now open for all 18 dates of the tour including.

Ben is son of James Taylor and Carly Simon (no pressure there).  Although he's tried to distance himself from his famous parents, Ben has found it difficult since he looks and sounds a lot like his old man.  

Ben's first release, 2003's Famous Among the Barns, was with the Ben Taylor Band.  The group released an EP in 2004 before Ben realized he wasn't playing the kind of music he wanted to and moved on.  

Ben's first solo release, Another Run Around the Sun, dropped in 2005.  Before teaming up with dear old dad, Ben toured with Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, and Blues Traveler.  Ben has a sister, Sally Taylor (an older progeny of James Taylor and Carly Simon) who is also singer.

While out on tour, Ben will be supporting his upcoming album, Listening.  It's set to drop sometime in 2011 and is the follow-up to his 2008 opus, The Legend of Kung Folk [Part 1 (The Killing Bite)].

Father Taylor is still supporting his Grammy nominated studio album, Covers (2008), as well as his live album, Live at the Troubadour with Carole King (2010).  Taylor and King toured this past summer in an outing dubbed "Troubadour Reunion Tour With Carole King."  The tour celebrated the 40th anniversary of the couple's first performance together at The Troubadour in West Hollywood.

The elder Taylor has some big dates planned for next year sans offspring.  In April and May of 2011,  James Taylor will be in New York City to perform four shows at Carnegie Hall.  

This coming summer, fans can catch James Taylor at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts.  Sweet Baby James is scheduled to take the stage on June 30, July 1, July 3, and July 4.

James Taylor & Ben Taylor's Tour Schedule
>>February 26 - Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theater
>>February 27 - Memphis, TN @ Orpheum Theatre
>>March 1 - Omaha, NE @ Orpheum Theater
>>March 2 - Des Moines, IA @ Civic Theatre
>>March 4 - Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre
>>March 5 - South Bend, IN @ Morris Performing Arts Center
>>March 8 - Grand Rapids, MI @ DeVos Performance Hall 
>>March 9 - East Lansing, MI @ Wharton Center for Performing Arts 
>>March 11 - Davenport, IA @ RiverCenter/Adler Theatre
>>March 12 - Cincinnati, OH @ Procter & Gamble Hall
>>March 22 - Jacksonville, FL @ Times-Union Center for Performing Arts 
>>March 23 - Columbia, SC @ Koger Center for the Arts 
>>March 25 - Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace Theatre 
>>March 26 -Raleigh, NC @ Memorial Auditorium 
>>March 29 - Norfolk, VA @ Chrysler Hall 
>>March 30 - Richmond, VA @ Landmark Theater 
>>April 1 - Hershey, PA @ Hershey Theatre 
>>April 2 - Toledo, OH @ Stranahan Theater

James Taylor Teams With Son Ben Taylor For 2011 US Tour

Brynn Alexander writes for ClickitTicket.com, a website that sells cheap concert tickets to all the top concert tours like James Taylor tickets and Eric Clapton concert tickets. ClickitTicket also offers sports and theater tickets too.