PHOTOS
Lisa Sokolowski
Not many 18-year-old women have perfect dating records. They've dated 18-year-old guys, and, as anyone above legal drinking age will attest to, that there's not much more than drama and headaches in high school relationships.
You make mistakes, some as simple as not treating your boyfriend right or cheating on your girlfriend.
And you get to college, abandon infantile relationships, and leave the hallway chatter in the past. That is, unless Taylor Swift is your ex.
"This is a song I wrote about a guy who cheated on me and shouldn't have because I write songs," Swift said before playing her current No. 1 hit, "Should've Said No," at the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain when she opened for Rascal Flatts on Saturday, Aug. 23.
But that wasn't the only time the 18-year-old took a jab at her former beaus.
"I really do try to be a nice person in general, but if you break my heart or if you hurt my feelings or if you mess with my friends from Pennsylvania, then I'm gonna have to write a song about you," she said before going into her the closing track of her seven-song set, "Pictures to Burn."
Swift's songs are all teenage-angst ridden, but she was so happy and energetic on stage, bouncing around in her gold- and silver-sequined dress, twirling her hair, staring out into the audience with an non-jaded appreciation.
What helped is that of the seven songs she performed, all had some form of air time. Six were radio singles, including "Change," which was played during commercials for this year's Olympic Games. Her set opener, "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" was the only song that hasn't been on the radio, yet the audience knew every word anyway.
It was a stark contrast to ballad-heavy Rascal Flatts, which opened with "Still Feels Good," the title track off the band's latest album. The audience was still enthusiastic during the band's cover of Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway."
After that, it was slightly hit or miss with the band, which left most of the dancing to the six figures in a mesh cage. It wasn't a cage as much as a semi-see through screen, but we had to keep your interest somehow.
The band sounded great, and even tried to relate to the crowd ("We want to welcome out all of the employees of Dunder Mifflin," bassist Jay DeMarcus said prior to "These Days." DeMarcus was probably unaware that had the band took the stage with Maroon 5 earlier this concert season, that joke would have actually been on point).
The crowd enjoyed the radio hits like "Stand" and "What Hurts the Most," which featured clips from the song's videos. But you could seem them wavering during "I'm Movin' On," a song that helped in Rascal Flatts' beginning fame five years ago.
The song started with guitarist Joe Don Rooney alone on stage, followed by DeMarcus on keys, and then vocalist Gary LeVox and came out with the full backing band to liven the mood.
The audience wasn't holding on to the breakout song as much as diehard fans probably should have. The fans did cheer for "Bob that Head," which the tour was named for, during the three-song encore, which featured red, white, and blue balloons (some with Rascal Flatts, Bob that Head printed on them). The encore, it should be noted, happened after a cartoon-like guitar player – who looked like he stepped out of
Guitar Hero -- appeared on the screens, rocking out to "We Will Rock You," "Iron Man," and "Welcome to the Jungle," among others – to pump up the crowd for the last trio of songs. And, well, no offense to the Flatts men, but he was more lively than they were.