In November last year, Taylor Swift announced that she was finally going back on tour. After the cancelation of her Lover Fest tour due to the pandemic, it’s been five years since Swift was on tour. Fans have been waiting to see Swift perform live again and now that it’s finally here people can’t get enough of her. I got the chance to see two nights of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA, on nights one and three. Here’s how my experience went.
Getting tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour
This tour is breaking records for Taylor Swift including ticket sales. The pre-sale for Eras Tour tickets was an absolute nightmare. Tickets were sold through Ticketmaster and in an attempt to make buying them easier Ticketmaster had fans sign up for the pre-sale. Pre-sale codes went out to fans randomly with a show date they signed up for.
When the pre-sale started I knew this was not going to be an easy task. From 9:30 am to 2 pm I sat in front of my computer in the queue waiting for my chance to get tickets. Ticketmaster, as we all know, had major issues on their end. At one point they had to pause the queue due to the amount of people logging on to try and get tickets. Since they were not keeping fans updated, I scrolled through TikTok for updates about the issues. If there is one thing Swifty’s are good at it’s solving mysteries and once they figured out what was going on people were mad at Ticketmaster.
Later on in the afternoon Ticketmaster finally loaded and by some miracle, there were tickets left for night one. The demand during the pre-sale was so much that all stadiums were sold out and Ticketmaster could no longer have their normal sale dates. But with tickets secured all there was left to do was wait.
Stadium Vibes at Gillette
As I was walking in the stadium surrounded by other fans dressed as their favorite Taylor Swift era, I could feel the excitement! People were trading friendship bracelets of their favorite Taylor Swift references. The idea was inspired by a line in her song You’re On Your Own Kid and it was just so wholesome and fun to trade with people.
If you are going to an Era’s Tour show take everyone’s advice and show up early! The lines for merch, food, and even the bathrooms were insane. Every merchandise line I walked past was over an hour long but that did not stop me from getting the blue crewneck. If you’re going to a show doors open at 2:30 pm (local time) and they set up a merch truck by the stadium the day before. So if you don’t want to go early or if you don’t go to a show you still have the chance to get an Eras tour shirt.
…are you ready for it, Swifties??
Stay in that ???????? ???? all weekend with our limited edition cocktail with vodka, blackberry, pear and Lavender Haze of glitter. ?
Available while supplies last. pic.twitter.com/XZP7ryuMLZ
— Gillette Stadium (@GilletteStadium) May 18, 2023
Gillette Stadium is a special place for Taylor Swift. During her very first tour, Gillette was the first stadium she ever played in. To celebrate Swift’s tour Gillette created a special drink for fans to enjoy called the Lavender Haze named after her first song on Midnights. It was so fun walking around and seeing so many people with this drink. Usually, themed drinks aren’t that good but the Lavender Haze was delicious.
Opening acts Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams, and Gayle
On night one the opening acts were Gayle (known for abcdefu) and Phoebe Bridgers (known for “I Know The End”). On night three Gracie Abrams joined the tour since night two was Gayle’s last show.
I was surprised by Gayle’s set and how much I enjoyed her. I don’t know a lot of her music, just the popular songs, but she had a great stage presence. But I was not crazy about Abrams mainly because I don’t know any of her songs. She has an amazing voice so I see why Swift asked her to join the tour.
I was most excited to see Phoebe Bridgers and she did not disappoint. If you have never listened to Bridgers before you would think she was an odd choice for an opener. A lot of music is very sad and slow and she is a little bit of an acquired taste. Not only does she play before the show Swift also brings her out to sing their song “Nothing New” (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault] from Red (Taylor’s Version).
The eras in The Eras Tour
Since this is called the Eras Tour, Swift was dedicated to fitting in every era of her music which spans 17 years and 10 albums.
Taylor Swift starts with Lover and ends with Midnights with most of her time spent on Folklore and Evermore, two albums she has never performed live. The transitions between eras were so smooth. There were little shorts to represent each era she was going into and during one transition her dancers came out and performed to a spoken word version of a few of Swift’s songs.
During the transitions, Swift would do her outfit changes under the stage. These were done in minutes! She has these changes down to a science and her outfits are absolutely stunning. Each of them correlated to something she had worn years ago on tour or for an album. My favorites are the Folklore and Evermore dresses and her Midnights bodysuit.
The visuals and sets were amazing. I loved that the visuals behind Swift extended to the stage so no one was missing out even if you had an obscured view. Having the whole stage be a giant screen was genius. Each one fits the vibe of each era perfectly. There were a few set pieces, the best one was the Folklore cabin. It was very foresty and is exactly what I imagined when Swift talked about the vibe she wanted for the album.
I mostly see everyone talking about the popular songs from Midnights or the older albums but I feel like no one talks about her performance of Tolerate It from Evermore. Swift puts on a whole scene for “Tolerate It.” There is a long dining table on the stage that she sets.
Once the song starts she and one of her dancers sit at the table while she sings at him crawling across the table, standing, and giving her all making it one of the most emotional songs of the night. Ever since hearing “Tolerate It” live I have a new appreciation for this song and I’ve had it on repeat since.
I also feel like a lot of the Folklore era and the Reputation era have been a little ignored. Those were my favorite parts of the show, especially when she transitions from “Don’t Blame Me” into “Look What You Made Me Do.” It was incredible that she combined those two songs making the ending of a soft song turn into an intense guitar intro. “Champagne Problems” was a huge fan favorite. It seemed like Swift had a lot of fun performing it even though it’s one of the sadder songs from Evermore.
A great surprise from this tour is that every night Swift sings two surprise songs from different albums which is one of the most exciting parts of the night. Night one she performed “Should’ve Said No” from her debut album Taylor Swift, meaning she sang songs from all 10 of her albums, and “Better Man” from Red (Taylor’s Version). On night two she sang “I Think He Knows” from “Lover” for the first time and “Red” from Red (Taylor’s Version). I loved this part of the show because it was just Taylor, a guitar, a piano, and 70,000 fans singing with her. It felt like such an intimate moment because this is when she would talk to the audience most about how she was feeling and the history of these songs.
Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour continues…
Taylor Swift is definitely a performer you should see if you can. Her attention to detail and commitment to putting on the best show possible is incredible. This was my second time seeing her, the first being the 1989 tour, and I am never disappointed when I see Taylor Swift live. Over three hours she sings 44 songs and gives her all for each show.
Swift’s tour is far from over, she still has eleven cities left in her U.S. tour, and other dates for more countries are going to be announced soon. Are you going to the Era’s Tour? Which Taylor Swift era is your favorite? For more reviews make sure you follow us on Twitter @mycosmiccircus and check out our Broadway musical reviews below!
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