Taylor Swift's 'Red' tour open its 3-night stand at the Prudential Center

Taylor Swift wasn't kidding when she titled her new tour "Red."
At the first of three shows at the Prudential Center in Newark Wednesday, she featured that color in her shoes, lipstick, evening gown, guitar, the backup singers' dresses, as well as in various lighting schemes. Even the word itself burned across giant screens as the night began.
Clearly, we're witnessing a woman who knows the value of staying on message — a point her lyrics have driven home for years. Nearly every song last night found Swift singing about love that hurt her, only to empower her.
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"Love is a ruthless game," she sang in the first song of the night, "State of Grace." "Unless you play it good and right."
It's a winking message that has resounded strongly enough to make Swift the single most identifiable figure for teen girls in modern pop. She's the ultimate incarnation of their frustrations and aspirations.
Small wonder that screamy young demo made up much of the sold-out crowd at last night's show. It likely will as well at two other shows to be held at the 18,000-seat arena tonight and tomorrow. Swift brings this same show back, in a super-sized version, to the 50,000 MetLife Stadium July 13.
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The singer draws a crowd so huge, in part, by playing elder sister to them. At 23, she's too experienced for the un-nuanced cycle of love, pain and revenge represented in her rather plain songs. But that only helps her to meet her audience at eye level.
At the same time, Swift has greatly expanded both her dramatic presentation and her sound.
The "Red" tour far outdoes all her previous shows in costume changes, fireworks, and theatrical backdrops. Swift featured an elaborate and elegant set up for “The Lucky One,” where she played a vintage young Hollywood star hounded by the press. In another section, she turned her old hit "You Belong with Me” into a '60s girl group, street corner serenade.
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That was one of the few older hits Swift allowed in the show. She spent most of the night singing cuts from the "Red" CD, which boasts a rockier sound than before. Last night's songs showed about as much country influence as you'd find in the music of Tibet. Some songs aimed for the anthemic quality of U2, replete with pinging guitars.
Swift personalized her broad new pieces with her usual cheeky clues about men they address.  “I Knew You Were Trouble,” for one, supposedly references her fleeting romance with One Direction’s Harry Styles.
It's a smartly mixed message such songs offer. On the one hand, the coded star allusions feel elite. But they also bring her fans into an exclusive circle. That mix of privilege and candor has emboldened Swift's brand as the modern singer who best bridges high romance with every-day, teenage dreams.