Over the past week, a lot has happened to me musically. Not only did I see sombr live at the Palace Theatre in Minnesota, but Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was released.
“The Life of a Showgirl”
I was really excited for Swift’s new album and even pre-ordered the four special, limited-edition CDs that came with jewelry and other charms. I also impulse-ordered one of the limited-edition vinyls she had. I got the green, shiny bug edition.
While many people online are criticizing the album, the more I’ve listened to it, the more I’ve grown to like it.
Sure, do some of the lyrics make me cringe or look at the invisible camera, channeling my inner Jim Halpert? Yes. But the beats are catchy.
However, I think my favorite track on the album has to be “Father Figure.” It’s addictive, and I really enjoy the sample from George Michael’s song, “Father Figure.”
I speculate the song is about Swift’s long-time “battle” with old record executive Scott Borchetta, who notoriously sold Swift’s original masters of her first six albums to Scooter Braun without even consulting with her or offering to sell them to her.
I hear the first track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” looping in my head over and over, closely followed by “Elizabeth Taylor.” It’s like the two are haunting my mind and won’t let me concentrate on anything without the lyrics screaming at me out of nowhere.
On the night of Oct. 5, my roommate Piper and I went to Micon Theatres in Eau Claire, with Swift having two-day showings around the world in various theaters as a release party, premiering her music video for “The Fate of Ophelia.”
Dare I say, this music video is one of the best she’s done. There are so many Easter eggs scattered about. Not even ones relating to her and previous albums but to the original Ophelia from “Hamlet.”
In the film, Swift explained the meaning of each of the songs and how she wanted them to be presented, which made me appreciate the album even more. But it was hilarious just how little she said about the song “Wood.” If you’ve heard the song, you know why I find that funny.
Enough about Swift, for now. Let’s talk about my concert experience.
Sombr
On Sept. 30, I was lucky enough to attend sombr’s tour: The Late Nights and Romance Tour.
Before this, I had never been to a concert. The closest thing was Rock Fest in the summer of 2024 to see a favorite band of mine, Shinedown. But my first real concert experience was a good one.
The opener, Devon Gabriella, gave an amazing performance, with catchy songs. I added some of her songs including “older” or “how could you?” to a few of my playlists after the show.
As for the main event, I really liked sombr’s set design. Since the name of the tour has the words “late night” in it, I should have guessed the concert would be laid out like a late night talk show set.
Between songs, he paid some homage to the late night shows, even including a dating show segment where he brought an audience member to the stage to call their ex. The audience would determine “who the problem was.” That concept is iconic and truly remarkable.
Sombr sounded just like he did on the recordings and may have sounded even better live. I got to hear basically all of my favorite tracks and then some.
I’ve never felt so seen as I did while screaming the lyrics to “undressed” or “under the mat” alongside so many other girls.
However, I did struggle seeing the right side of the stage, as someone who was 6-foot-2 decided to stand in the front. How did I know she was 6-foot-2-inches? Because I’m 5-foot-2-inches on a good day, and she was a good foot taller than me.
But that’s the life of a short girl, I suppose. Overall, I loved seeing one of my favorite artists in concert. I hope I can see him again in the future alongside other artists.
Boggess can be reached at [email protected].
