Was the Eras Tour everything I dreamed it to be?
Mya Fraser (She/Her) // Sports Editor
Yohahnah Loker (she/her) // Illustrator
It’s me, hi! I’m the lucky one who was fortunate enough to have gotten tickets to see Taylor Swift. And yes, it was totally worth the hype it’s been getting across the internet.
I went to her show in Seattle on Sunday, July 23, 2023. I was one of many Vancoverites traveling across the border to attend her show. To avoid traffic, we left at 4:30 a.m. I was riding shotgun next to one sister, with my other sister in the back. We drove right to the stadium, getting to Lumen Field by 8 a.m. Our hotel check-in wasn’t until 2:00 p.m. though, so what did we do? We staked out in the merch line. We were maybe the 15th group in line, and over those five hours we chatted with other Swifties and watched the line grow immensely.
After collecting our matching Eras Tour crewnecks, we grabbed lunch and checked into the hotel. From there it was straight to business. We started to make the friendship bracelets—a must for the concert. One of my sisters had an arm cast on so we bejeweled her cast with dollar store stick-on jewels to make it shine. Then it was time for hair, makeup and outfits. We all bought matching dresses in three different colours from Anthropologie and rocked our cowgirl boots to the concert.
HAIM and Gracie Abrams were her opening acts, and they were great. HAIM later came back out to perform “no body, no crime” with Taylor later in the show. It was around 8:30 p.m. when she opened with “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince.” If you were a true fan though, you probably already knew that would be her first song from stalking her setlist.
It’s hard to say what my favorite performances were since I’m obsessed with all of her songs. Her classics like “Enchanted,” “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” were so fun to sing with the whole crowd. Then again, most of her crowd is singing every song at the top of their lungs. There’s no experience like it. My favorite part of the concert was that she was singing songs from all her albums. There was a little taste of everything, and she performed for three and a half hours straight, so you get your money’s worth and an incredible show.
At every concert, she sings a couple of surprise songs. We were lucky to get “Message In A Bottle,” which she released in November of 2021 when she rereleased her album Red (Taylor’s Version). Additionally we got “Tied Together With A Smile,” which was released back in October of 2006, from her debut album, Taylor Swift. The anticipation of which surprise songs you’ll be getting is something the fans know all too well.
Overall, it was far from a cruel summer getting to experience Taylor Swift live. If you have the opportunity to attend one of her shows, jump at the chance. She has the record for the most number one albums by a female artist for a reason. She truly is a superstar.