Photo by Kevin Mazur / Getty for TAS
The Eras Tour is not only Taylor Swift’s best tour yet, but will go down in history for the enormous spectacle it is and as a musical feat. It’s a concert that leaves you breathless and at a loss for words, and just the most incredible experience to be a part of.
Santa Clara is the second to last city on the North American Eras Tour, but fans still remember and are scarred from the turmoils from Ticketmaster’s infamous queue and third party ticket resellers. Before the show fans were murmuring to each other how they still were on phones that morning trying to get tickets, or ensure they were available and in their digital wallets to be scanned. Even Taylor partway through the set teased and asked who in the audience gave everything they could to be there that night, and thanked them for it. It was all worth it. Every minute, every hour, spent in a queue or on the phone. Every page refresh and ticket site visited. This was the best night of everyone’s lives.
Levi’s Stadium was packed and the loudest it’s ever been. Shining in the bay area sun from all the sequin dresses and jackets worn. Pinks, purples, colors all around the stadium and lined for blocks wrapping around the stadium. Carefully tailored outfits that had months of planning to match the themes and eras of the night. Some fans wearing outfits as seen from performances or music videos as worn by Taylor Swift herself. Just a friendly and wholesome environment to be in, symbolized and emphasized by the candy bracelets worn and exchanged by fans. Some with bracelets lined all the up their forearms like sleeves, and many bringing ziplock bags of bracelets to pass out and trade. Every single person there gathered in one place to celebrate and be passionate about the music and artist they are about to see.
“Santa Clara, WELCOME TO THE ERAS TOUR” Taylor yelled as screams in response rang out from the stadium. Opening with a truncated version of “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince” and thus opening the Eras Tour with the Lover era. Every single moment of this set and this tour was perfectly crafted, and opening the show with “It’s been a long time coming but – It’s you and me, that’s my whole world” is perfect. 5 years since last playing the bay area. A cancelled Lover Fest due to a pandemic. 3 new albums and additions to the Taylor Swift catalogue, as well as 2 re-recorded albums in that time. It has been a long time coming, and Taylor and her fans were overjoyed to share the next 3 and a half hours together in a celebration of 17 years of music together.
Every album, every era represented with it’s own batch of songs, outfit, stage design, choreography, and surprises within the massive 45 song set. Each with it’s own shining moment. Far from the traditional setlist and concert, each era stood on its own with hand selected songs performed together. Moving from the bright pinks and colors of the Lover Era, fans screamed as the opening intro to “Fearless” played. And Taylor brought us back to high school with the songs “You Belong with Me” and “Love Story.”
Next was evermore and we were greeted once again by the opening band HAIM, as they joined Taylor Swift onstage to perform their song “no body, no crime.” Fans gave Taylor Swift a prolonged ovation after her piano performance of “champagne problems.” Taylor standing centerstage and soaking it in, removing one of her ear monitors to really hear how deafening the crowd was. A smile on her face with glossy eyes, sharing this genuine moment with her fans. Finally telling her crowd how she doesn’t want the tour to end. This far in and each night still remains unique in their own way, and to her disbelief this was the response to a “sad little piano song.”
Marching through the eras we moved into Reputation followed by Speak Now. Special each in their own way. With Reputation being the last album cycle fully toured, it was fun seeing the contrast of the past tour and spin on the performance as part of The Eras Tour. Speak Now is the most recent album to be reclaimed by Taylor, with Taylor’s Version being released just a few weeks back. “Long Live” was recently added to the setlist with the rerecording now out. Phones, camera flashes and voices were all out in unison with Taylor and her band.
As we transitioned into the Red era fireworks went off in the neighboring Great America amusement park. Unplanned, but adding to the overall experience and magic of the night as they continued going off through her performance of “22.” Taylor was in disbelief too. Before performing the 10 minute version of “All Too Well” she hopped on the mic to share her surprise with the fans. “Did you guys see those fireworks?!” she asked. “We brought our own those weren’t even ours, that was just cool.”
folklore and 1989 were the next eras. At this point, we were already a couple hours into the show but you couldn’t even tell. Taylor has a way of making even a sold out stadium feel like an intimate show. The cozy and warm yet solemn songs of folklore stunned the crowd, as the high energy pop tracks of 1989 brought the excitement and had the crowd on their feet dancing and screaming.
The format was broken momentarily as we entered the acoustic set of the show, where Taylor played two surprise songs that were unique to each night of the tour. One song played on guitar, and the other on piano. For a special surprise, musician and producer Aaron Dessner joined Taylor onstage to perform “right where you left me.” Taylor then met us at the piano, where she played “Castles Crumbling,” a vault track off Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Unfortunately the show had to come to an end, and we closed the night with Taylor’s latest album Midnights. The show ended with a bang. The stage became soaked in hues of purples and blues as a large cloud appeared centerstage. The extended intro to “Lavender Haze” echoed through the stadium until Taylor once again returned to the stage in a large purple coat. The spectacles didn’t stop there, as she performed an entire cabaret style choreography for “Vigilante Shit.” This unbelievable night ended with a large spectacle accompanied by fireworks (this time, the ones the tour brought) for her closer, “Karma.”
The Eras Tour is the show of a lifetime. A lifetime of worked summed up and carefully crafted. The love and artistry of this journey Taylor Swift and her fans have shared over the last 17 years on full display. All this and with no sign of stopping. Taylor Swift has kept us at the edge of our seat after all these years feverishly waiting for the next thing to come, gets us off our feet and screaming late into the night at her shows, and will continue to do so. Nobody but Taylor knows what’s coming next, despite all the theories and speculation fans will put together. No matter what she does next, we will all be blown away by it yet again. And she will somehow outdo herself, just like she has time and time again. Era after era.
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