T-Day: Taylor Swift’s Eras tour swept the city

July 10, 2023

Lauren Textor,

Taylor Swift. // Photo by Chris Ortiz

When Speak Now was originally released in 2010, I convinced my parents to buy me two copies. I listened to them nonstop on my Hello Kitty CD player, obsessed with the dramatic lyrics about blossoming love and heartbreak. It didn’t matter that I was years away from having my first kiss—Taylor made life take on a glamorous rom-com sheen that I longed for. Class holiday parties and blissful biological ignorance were soon replaced with tampons, cliques, and mountains of homework.

But Swift kept producing music, and I kept listening.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was released this week, coinciding with her two sold-out Eras tour dates in Arrowhead Stadium. Even if you’re not a Swiftie, you’ve probably figured out by now that this is a big deal.

City Hall, Kansas City International Airport, and Union Station lit up purple for the concert. Local bakeries churned out Eras-inspired cookies. Hundreds lined up to take photos with North Kansas City street signs renamed Cornelia Street and Swift Street (Taylor’s Version).

Gracie Abrams. // Photo by Chris Ortiz

Emerging singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams and queer pop trio MUNA opened the concerts on Friday and Saturday night as fans flooded into the stadium, searching for their seats against a chaotic backdrop of friendship bracelet trades and spirited debates over the price of chicken strips.

MUNA. // Photo by Chris Ortiz

Abrams and MUNA concluded their opening acts by singing “Silk Chiffon” together, the first single off MUNA’s third album. As the pre-chorus says, “Life’s so fun,” and this is especially true while anticipating Swift’s arrival.

At 8 p.m., Swift emerged onstage to roaring applause, birthed from beneath enormous sunset-colored fans attached to the dancers. The showmanship was dialed all the way up, and it stayed there the entire night.

During “The Man,” Swift strolled through an office, complete with desks and typewriters, dressed in a rhinestone blazer to match her go-go boots. For “tis the damn season,” a false forest of evergreens grew out of the stage, with smoke blanketing the space between the trees. Swift’s backup dancers cloaked her in a green velvet cape for “willow,” holding glowing orbs in a way that can only be described as cult chic.

Since Swift’s Reputation tour was in 2018. In the five years since, she has released four original albums (Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights) and three re-recorded albums (Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)). The Eras tour celebrates all of these albums as once, as well as their predecessors—which is why Swift’s performance spans over three hours.

And what a glorious three hours it is.

Even during the most heart-wrenching songs, the crowd is on. We watch with rapt attention as Swift sets an onstage dining room table for her lover, then swipes the plates to the floor as she realizes that he can only “tolerate” her affection.

Taylor Swift. // Photo by Chris Ortiz

Swift obviously loves performing, and the crowd loves her. The switch from one era to another includes costume changes for both Swift and the dancers, as well as a matching microphone, props, and set design. Every detail is thought out, from the Folklore cabin to the purple “Enchanted” ballgown.

My Taylor Swift obsession was on pause during the Reputation era. It didn’t resonate with me, and I even cringed listening to some of the songs. But seeing it live? It’s a whole different experience.

“Look What You Made Me Do” is a song that most fans love or hate, but I will never listen to it the same way after last night.

Backup dancers dressed in costumes representing different periods of Swift’s music appeared in glass cages, screaming to be let out as Swift taunted them in a sparkly red-and-black leotard.

“The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now,” she said, smirking as everyone and their mother lost their damn mind.

More surprises were in store—most notably the actual surprise songs that Swift has built into each show. Because Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was released this week and the lyrics of “Last Kiss” reference July 9, there was frenzied speculation that Swift would choose to play this song at her July 8 performance at Arrowhead. Plus, her famous koi fish guitar—which was used on Speak Now tour to play “Last Kiss”—was mysteriously removed from the Country Music Hall of Fame last week.

Although she started over twice—Swift did, in fact, serenade the audience with fan favorite “Last Kiss,” as well as “Dorthea” off evermore.

Audience members at Arrowhead for both July 7 and July 8 received the bonus song “Long Live” due to the timely release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Twitter user @hotmessjunk wrote, “what did kansas city do to deserve long live.”

Taylor Swift. // Photo by Chris Ortiz

The show ended with seven songs off Midnights, her newest original album, concluding with fireworks and confetti cannons set to “Karma.”

I have never been to a concert that has left me so physically and emotionally drained—or so connected to my middle school self. Hearing the music I loved as an awkward, sensitive child performed live as a confident, well-adjusted adult is more than healing.

It’s validation that although life is not always as glamorous or cleverly written as Taylor Swift’s lyrics, it is worth pushing through.

https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1678474124941729810

Photos by Chris Ortiz

The Crowd