Real Life Rock Top 10: June 15, 2023

1. Taylor Swift, “The Man,” Eras Tour, Soldier Field, Chicago (June 3).  Remember all that nonsense about Beyoncé as “Sasha Fierce” and hoisting up

behind her onstage as if you could reduce philosophy to branding and lived history to an ad? This carefully plotted performance was not that. This was the real thing, “You Don’t Own Me” under the pressure of all the years since: What would it take for me to own you? It moved slowly, deliberately, like a flag unfolded square by square, more calm ferocity with each gesture. It wasn’t even the high point of the show. As a younger fan put it after the long version of “All Too Well,” “It’s better than listening in the car!” Or, as an older one said, “Pure, unadulterated joy is not something you see on a 15-year-old’s face very often.”