Review: Perth Symphony Orchestra’s Taylor Made at RAC Arena

Perth Symphony Orchestra's Taylor Made at RAC Arena
w/ Amber Reid
Friday, May 17, 2024

Are you… Ready For It?

Australia’s east coast was hit with a fearsomely energetic and frenzied plague of Swiftmania as global pop superstar Taylor Swift hit our shores, bringing her three-hour-long Eras Tour performances to both Melbourne and Sydney back in February. Perth missed out on a visit, but on Friday night, they got the next best thing as Perth Symphony Orchestra brought Swift’s classic hits and heartbreaking melodies to life with full flare and vibrancy at RAC Arena.

Perth local and The Voice contestant Amber Reid got the crowd warmed up and ready with a round of original songs and top ten hits, including chart-topper Flowers by Miley Cyrus and the disco groove of Dance the Night by Dua Lipa. However, it was her smooth, spreadable rendition of Butter by BTS that got the whole of RAC Arena buttered up for the evening’s proceedings.

After a short intermission, the orchestral armada took to the stage wearing an apt amount of sparkles and cowboy hats for a performance of a Taylor Swift catalogue. “We are all here for one reason—Taylor Swift,” announced Conductor Larrisa Brooke, donned in a serpent-like body suit straight out of Swift’s reputation era.

Getting the night into gear was the cruisy red-lipped classic Style. With a pulsating beat balancing on the sway of the string section, Australia’s finest vocalists, in the form of Matt Allen, Coby Grant, Mia Matthiessen, and Sofia Watt, took the helm at centre stage to sing those all-too-familiar hooks and punchy lyrics of Swift’s handywork.

A pop choral rendition of Anti Hero had the crowd chanting that they were in fact “the problem,” but is there ever a problem when you’re wearing all that glitter and sequins? The subtle tweet of the flute was a delightful addition that really captured how breathtaking a live orchestra can be when thoughtful melodies and arrangements are inserted into these tracks with the precision of a surgeon.

“Tonight is a celebration of the incredible woman she is and her music,” PSO announced before I Knew You Were Trouble managed to fit a full set of backing dancers, spinning and splitting in red robes across the stage and amongst the crowd.

Our Song dipped into country with a jaunty guitar twang to get the crowd up and swaying with the phone lights before the pace shifted into a beautifully elegant performance of the bewitching Willow from Swift's ninth album evermore. It was on these folk songs that the orchestra really shone, from the sombre piano keys of Champagne Promblems to the enriching dive it the woods with folklore lead single cardigan, choreographed by an interpretative dance of two lovers falling out of love. It was a truly spellbinding performance of visual arts, that only emphasised the proficiency of all these musicians and performers that had set out to create a truly spectacular show.

Stunning visuals of landscapes and themed backdrops with quotes about Taylor’s deep foray into music and performance created a history around the show to truly honour the world’s current biggest recording artist. It gave the evening a sense of purpose and camaraderie, emphasising why a crowd of Swifties and orchestra lovers alike had decided to walk hand in hand into RAC Arena on the night.

Bejewelled, Look What You Made Me Do and smash hit Cruel Summer introduced the crowd to the campy vocals of local drag queen Dean Misdale. As if a Taylor Swift concert could have gotten anymore theatrical, the night hit its full splendorous potential as the crowd jumped about like frenzied disco balls to the beat of fan favourites We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Shake It Off, before paring off the pop fizz with the criminally smooth I Can See You.

A song with enough violins and tension that it could have been out of a bond film, Don’t Blame took the audience through a dark turn, as drums came out in full effect, pounding and drumming a choral lashing of operatic proportions. Phones lit up the arena like a midnight sky for reputation track Delicate, as drums and shakers led the pack in a march and trumpets rose triumphantly above the chorus for a shimmering highlight of the night.

Tear jerkers included the euphoric You’re On Your Own Kid, which went soaring to new height’s on the graceful strings of the orchestra. The night came to a close with a one two knockout punch of All Too Well and Love Story—two songs that found the evening’s peak with the full force of the orchestra. The instruments and lights swirled in a magnificently uplifting and gloriously melancholic rendition, receiving a rapturous applause from the crowd.

The evening felt like an elegant dip into Netflix’s own Bridgerton (Taylor’s Version). The vocals never once took a dip, and each note was belted out with confidence, as if the artists had written the songs themselves. Paired with theatrics and costumes from all of Taylor’s eras, no expense was spared to give Perth audiences an experience of Swift proportions.

Though really, it was Perth Symphony Orchestra themselves that were the real stars of the night, as they built up and exploded into breathtaking crescendos and harmonic soundscapes for a captivating performance. It was proof that even a Taylor Swift song could do with a few strings, a woodwind and brass section, and enough moxie to bring the house down.

SAM MEAD

Photos by Duncan Barnes