With a little help from my friends: Cadenza’s dream guests for Taylor Swift’s Scottrade Center shows - Student Life

With a little help from my friends: Cadenza’s dream guests for Taylor Swift’s Scottrade Center shows

This Monday and Tuesday, Taylor Swift will bring her 1989 World Tour to St. Louis’ own Scottrade Center. Swift has drawn attention for bringing out high-profile guests during nearly every show on this tour; the list runs the gamut from Mick Jagger to Julia Roberts to the U.S. women’s soccer team. In anticipation of the Scottrade shows, Cadenza shares its dream guests:

Jack Antonoff

Jack Antonoff is better-known as one-third of the band fun., Lena Dunham’s boyfriend and the leader of indie-pop group Bleachers. However, the artist has also recently dabbled in the role of producer and had a hand in three tracks on Swift’s most recent album, “1989”: the single “Out Of The Woods,” “I Wish You Would” and bonus track “You Are In Love.”

Jack’s relationship to these songs, especially the third, runs deeper than just that of a producer and co-writer. Swift has stated that the lyrics to “You Are In Love” are actually about Dunham and Antonoff’s relationship, and Dunham even declared it their “wedding song.” When an opening act at Antonoff’s “Shadow of the City” music festival covered the track last week, he tweeted that he wished Dunham and Swift were there to see it. He’s obviously pining for a music-based reunion with Swift, and now that Bleachers have finished touring, it’s the perfect time. As for the show, Jack could play guitar during “Out of the Woods” or even perform the anthemic Bleachers hit “I Wanna Get Better” with Swift.

I also Snapchatted Jack and asked him to come. Although he didn’t reply, he did open it, so at least he knows he’s wanted.

—Jessie Colston

Calvin Harris

Yes, it’s the obvious choice, but I have some gut feeling that he could be the one “who belongs with her.” Although the swarm of engagement rumors have not been confirmed, the various photographs of the couple over the past six-plus months seem to exude pure happiness. She’s not “Fifteen” anymore, and he surely wasn’t “trouble when he walked in.” Maybe he’ll be the one guy to avoid making it into one of her heartbroken hit singles. Regardless, Harris’ schedule is not so packed right now as to preclude a short trip to Missouri, especially for his girlfriend. And what could be a better crowd pleaser than this duo walking out onto the Scottrade Center stage holding hands?

—Erica Sloan

Chuck Berry

Can you think of anything more appropriate than seeing Swift perform with one of rock ’n’ roll’s founding fathers? After hearing Ryan Adams cover “1989” in the style of The Smiths and Father John Misty cover Swift’s songs in the style of the Velvet Underground, it’s definitely time for Swift to cover her own songs in the style of Chuck Berry. It would simply be incredible to hear Chuck Berry’s signature riff leading into an up-tempo “You Belong With Me,” where the country guitars are replaced with the sounds of one of the genre’s original influences. Swift is no stranger to playing with stars from the classic rock era, as she jammed with Paul McCartney in February and featured Mick Jagger in her Nashville show Saturday night. Many in the crowd likely would not recognize or be familiar with Chuck Berry by name, but once they hear his guitar, I’m sure it will strike a chord with the audience, as his riffs never go out of style.

—Tyler Friedman

Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick is the head coach of the New England Patriots and a beautiful, beautiful person. Though he’s won four Super Bowls and compiled a .731 regular season winning percentage with the Patriots, his disposition tends to fall between coroner and Internal Revenue Service auditor. He stonewalls the media on the simplest questions, wears the ugliest hoodies you could possibly imagine and rides majestically into the sunset on his boat, as he did at the end of “Belichick: A Football Life,” which is an NFL Films documentary about him that’s also the greatest film of the past 50 years.

Though Belichick and Taylor Swift have achieved similar levels of professional success, they lie on opposite ends of the outward enthusiasm scale, which is why Swift should fly him out from Boston for her Scottrade show. I’m not quite sure what he’d do—probably scowl and make a curt and cryptic remark about the inherent absurdity of the situation—but the symbolism would be powerful. Who knows, maybe he’d break into that facial expression that vaguely resembles the beginning stages of a smile he flashes every so often.

—Mark Matousek

Hippo Campus

Superstars aside, I would love to see the group Hippo Campus make a guest appearance at a Taylor Swift concert. While this small band from Minnesota does not have near the hold on people’s hearts as Swift does, their largely optimistic musical style and similar audience of young teenage girls makes the two artists a perfect pair. Hippo Campus will provide Swift’s country pop with a twist of light alternative rock, providing their audience with a palette of musical genres to experience throughout the night. With her influence, Swift may offer the band the publicity that they need to move just one step further in the music world. Having brought so many stars to her stage already, it may behoove Swift to switch things up a bit by occasionally taking on smaller names, using such performances as opportunities for musical diversification and the promotion of groups aspiring for her level of musical success. P.S.: Look for Hippo Campus at the Firebird next week!

—Greer Russell

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