THE TOUR OF THE YEAR! Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour"!

Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" takes over Santa Clara, California for 2 Earth shaking nights!

Photos and Review

For many, this year has been deemed “The Year of Taylor Swift”, and that was certainly true for the over 60,000 costume-wearing fans who sold out Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (renamed Swiftie Clara for the weekend )for the second night of her two-night stand at the venue. Earlier this year, fans took on a battle with Ticketmaster in an attempt to secure tickets to The Eras Tour, which takes a journey through Swift’s discography. It was not hard to see why this was such an unprecedentedly coveted tour to get tickets for. Taylor Swift does not just put on a concert, she delivers and engages her fans in a once- in-a-lifetime experience. Full of different effects caused by lighting changes, props, sets, or outfits, it is impossible for someone not to be impressed by the showmanship alone.

Swift opens the tour with songs from her “Lover” album, the last album produced before the pandemic unexpectedly canceled her tour promoting the album; entering on a platform elevating her above the stage decorated with vibrant pastel colors in a glittering bodysuit and singing lines from her song “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince,” the crowds went wild. It did not seem like the stadium could get louder than when she entered the stage, but that was quickly proven wrong when the audience joined her in “singing” a fan-favorite “Cruel Summer,” singing being used loosely because they were more so screaming when it got to the bridge of the song.

Following up her introspective song of “The Archer,” we take it back to her album that really brought worldwide attention to Taylor Swift and her unique song writing; Fearless. Spinning around in a gold tassled dress reminiscent of the one she wore on the original Fearless tour, Swift plays guitar to accompany her singing to hits such as “Fearless,” “Love Story,” and “You Belong With Me.” Seeing her do the same hair flipping dance moves more than 15 years after the release of the original album was a full circle moment.

Taylor leaves the stage in her glamorous outfit and reappears moments later in a more natural look of bare feet and a long copper flowy dress for her Evermore set. The Haim sisters (who opened up for Swift on this leg of the tour) join her on stage to sing the song they collaborated on, “No Body, No Crime.” She removed “Tis The Damn Season” from the setlist to include the Haim Sisters during the show. For the lead single, “Willow,” dancers joined Swift in choreography that resembled witchcraft, dancing in cloaks with lanterns. Thousands of fans lit up the dark stadium with flashlights as a tribute to Taylor’s late grandmother as she sang the song “Marjorie” about their special relationship. Something that makes her concert unique is despite it being on track to be the highest grossing tour of all time, she has a way of connecting with her fans in an intimate way that was evident in a moment where she takes in the crowd visually and slowly and then removes her earpiece to hear the two-and-a-half minute long cheers while sitting on the piano bench. Ending the set with an emotional performance of “Tolerate It,” the stage is set with a table as her dancer sits across from her, portraying a partner who takes her for granted, then she is swept backstage and the lights go dark.

After leaving Evermore with a heart breaking song, she comes back out with a bang, strutting down the catwalk to the beat of “Ready For It?...” setting the tone for a fiery Reputation Era set. Dressed in a skin tight black bodysuit with red sparkly snakes slithering up the sides, Swift is raised on a pedestal with strobe lights appearing to shine down on her from the sky as she belts the powerful bridge from “Don’t Blame Me.” She ends the set seeing “Past Taylors” trapped in glass boxes while she sings lead single, “Look What You Made Me Do.” It looked like this was not only a lot of fans’ favorite set of the night, but Swift also seemed to be enjoying the boldness of these songs.

The transition from the Reputation Era set to the Speak Now set perfectly encapsulates the breadth of work Swift has (and executes brilliantly). From the dark, edgy aesthetic of Reputation, she changes into a shimmering purple ball gown fit for a princess, and begins to sing “Enchanted” as the first of two songs in the Speak Now Era on tour. She has recently added “Long Live” to the set list following the re-release of her Speak Now album. “Long Live” was a much anticipated song on tour because it is one Taylor dedicates to her relationship with her fans and her legacy in the music industry making it a crowd favorite.

Leaving the stage elegant and poised, she comes back out in a tee shirt and shorts with a skip and a hop to sing boppy hits like “We Are Never Getting Back Together” and “22” before slowing down the pace for a 10 minute stint of her song “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” one the “Swifties” waited in suspense for almost ten years to hear the full version of it and knew every word too. I was impressed by Swift’s breath control and ability to go from belting long high notes to effortlessly singing a ten minute song with no signs of struggle or pause when even everyone around me could not catch their breath from singing along. The aesthetic of the stage shifts into a calm earthy set with songs from one of her Pandemic albums, “Folklore,” where Taylor comes out on a moss covered house wearing a flowy white dress that sways when she spins around singing “Cardigan” and “August” and then a heartbreaking version of “Illicit Affairs” where she throws herself on the ground making the audience feel the pain behind the lyrics of the song.

The tone changes from whimsical Folklore to the Pop hit album, 1989 as she confidently walks down stage in her sparkly two piece set (which matched my outfit, in case you were wondering). The 1989 set includes some of my favorite songs from her whole discography, such as “Wildest Dreams,” “Style,” and of course, “Shake It Off'' which got everyone up to sing and dance, probably the loudest and most passionate that they had been the whole night. She then slips on an outer shawl, and we roll into the much anticipated portion of the show next to the two surprise songs. She played “Stay, Stay, Stay” on the guitar, and “All of the Girls You Loved Before” on the piano which excited everyone because that is the first time she has ever performed the Lover Album song live after it was released almost three years after the album’s original release. She ends the set by literally diving off stage and “swimming” up the catwalk, making it back in time to finish the show with her Midnights album set.

Majestic, light purple clouds start enveloping the stage for her song “Lavender Haze” followed up with a display of Swift's creative choreography used in her sultry performance of “Vigilante Shit,” using chairs as props for her and her dancers. This is the first tour Swift has sung these songs live because this was her most recent new album released in October of 2022. The concert ends with the fun “Karma,” and confetti falls to the ground sending fans into a frenzy collecting confetti as a souvenir (reminiscent of children during an Easter egg hunt).

From the beginning of her show at 8:00 to the very end at 11:30, the entire three-and-a-half-hour show was visually packed and full of energy from Swift, her dancers, and the fans. I’ve never been at a concert with people more excited and appreciative of every move the singer made through singing 45 songs. This was a theatrical performance and so fun to be a part of. I left the show with no voice, lots of memories, and friendship bracelets. It’s no question why the city honored Swift by making her the Mayor for the weekend when it’s evident how much the city loves her. I would highly recommend anyone seeing the concert; even if you are not a fan of Taylor Swift, the energy and enthusiasm was contagious, and The Eras Tour was the event to go to this summer.

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