In my Post Era's Tour Era
All the gritty era's tour details, tips, impressions, and general thoughts on seeing our queen Miss Swift.
“the post concert depression is real,” i decide as i pack my taylor swift tote with all of my work necessities. don’t get me wrong, i am a creature of habit. i love sleeping in my own bed and going to bed at 9pm, but those rare nights where something special is going on? and i’m forming what the internet calls a core memory? pretty much priceless. going to the Era’s tour felt like a fever dream, and i’m still in shock that i was even there.
since there’s so much i want to talk about in regards to this tour, i’m going to structure it into two sections. tips+advice if you’re going, and impressions+thoughts. i will be tagging all spoilers, so feel free to stop reading if you’re going to a future date! <3
*for context - i attended the first night of the era’s tour in philadelphia, pa (Taylor’s hometown!!) on Friday May 12th. depending on where and when you’re going, some of these things may not apply.*
before the show
make a pack list. if you’re going out of state like i did, you do not want to forget anything important. i’m a little anal about this because i generally am a huge planner, but identifying at least two days before everything you think you’ll need is crucial. i had a lot of pre-show jitters and it helped a ton to have everything i needed to be packed in advance. check your stadium policies, mine had a clear bag requirement. don’t wind up having to ditch your bag or getting pulled aside. (although, security at my stadium was very lax..not great in principle but something to note.)
don’t forget your friendship bracelets! it might feel silly, but so many people were wearing and trading bracelets at the show. personally, this was my favorite souvenir i have because each one is so unique. don’t be afraid to ask people who have bracelets on if they want to trade. we mostly traded with people outside of the stadium while waiting for the gates to open. we made ours the night before the show, which was a fun way to get hyped and spend time together.
communicate with your lodging arrangements if you’re spending the night somewhere. in our case, our default check in time was 4pm, and the gates opened at 4:30PM. we wanted to leave early enough to avoid any traffic since we were getting a lyft, and if you’re able to get an earlier check in time - that’s golden. we got into our airbnb at 2pm and went to get a bite to eat after before we got ready. it worked out perfectly, since we had about an hour and 30 minutes to do our makeup+get dressed/make sure we had everything.
eat before. yes, you’ll want to eat at the stadium too, but you should have balanced nutrition before going. the last thing you'll want to be is faint or dehydrated.
we got into our lyft around 4:10, with no issues or traffic in sight. it took us around 12 minutes to get to the stadium- so if you want to avoid any chaos getting there, leave early. seriously. but don’t leave so early that you’re standing around for 4 hours, unless that’s your thing. we left early enough that we only stood for about 10-15 minutes waiting for the gates to open.
wear. comfortable. shoes. this will matter so much after the show. you, like many others, want to believe you’ll be catching a lyft or some other ride. however, unless public transportation is available to you, or you drove yourself and parked at the stadium, you are walking. we walked 40 minutes to our airbnb at 11pm- and i regret wearing combat boots. it might not be the cutest thing to wear cozy shoes with your eras outfit, but it’s the smartest thing in the long run.
finally, conserve your energy as much as possible before the show. taylor performs for about 3.5 hours, and you’ll want to stand the entire time. keep in mind she also has two openers.
during the show
as soon as you get in through the gates, i recommend navigating toward your seats and then getting food and drinks. the lines suck, like at every show, but if you get there as you get in, you avoid that mess. sadly, i didn’t do this, and i wound up only being able to grab a pretzel with cheese for dinner. that was fine, but it left me hungry a lot later.
don’t bother trying to get merch when you get into the stadium. the lines are insane and it’s not worth it. i was debating on getting merch altogether because i didn’t know if i liked anything enough, but i ended up getting a gray half zip and a shirt for my friend. i snuck out during two songs that i was OK with missing during Taylor’s set, and nobody was in line. so, if you’re doing merch, go during the show- otherwise, order online.
basic concert etiquette still applies. seriously. keep in mind that you’re not the only one here to see taylor, or other big name acts like phoebe bridgers. depending on the artist i find that they attract certain crowds of people..as someone who loves emo alt and basement shows i’ve experienced a variety of fanbases. honestly, i wasn’t a fan of some of the people we encountered. cutting in lines, giving people side eyes for no reason, and pushing kids/elderly/ANYONE out of the way is disrespectful altogether. just be nice and remember that you’ll get there, to your seat, merch, food, whatever it is.
turn your phones exposure down if you want the best possible pictures. it helped me.
its ok to be excited and scream/jump around, but be mindful of your surroundings or if you’re blocking anyone’s views.
after the show
if you can, i’d suggest walking up and out during the last song/half way through, just to avoid a crowd rush.
don’t rely on rideshares to get back to your airbnb or hotel. start walking, stay aware of your surroundings, and if you are that far from your stay- walk far enough that you can call a ride outside of high traffic areas. honestly, walking was the way to go, despite how much our feet hurt. (props to my girl for walking 40 minutes in heels with a bleeding blistered foot.)
that’s all i can think of advice wise! key thing is to get places early, mostly.
..now for the good stuff.
SPOILERS AHEAD: Do not read past this blurb if you don’t want to be spoiled. I’m going to discuss the show itself.
thoughts, feelings, impressions:
..this was the best concert i’ve ever been to, hands down, period. i was lucky because not only did i get to see taylor swift, an artist i’ve loved since i was a kid, but i also got to see phoebe bridgers, another artist i absolutely adore. (sidenote: checkout her band boygenius. lucy and julien are also just as talented and i love their music!) gayle was the first opener, and i didn’t see her because i was waiting in line for food but i didn’t mind that...womp!
phoebe performed a lot of her hits like motion sickness (cue my screaming!) kyoto and scott street. she seems so down to earth and cute. really enjoyed seeing her.
as for taylor?
unbelievable. first of all, for an artist to perform 3.5 hours with no breaks except for quick changes? i mean, how? i’m still asking myself the same question. when she came out on stage to miss americana, i felt like i couldn’t breathe. in a great way. ethereal and sparkly, even though we were seated in the lower level (which were still amazing seats!!), i still felt close to her.
because she literally performs every single era, granted a few select songs, i can’t begin to fully describe everything that happened that night. it almost feels like concert amnesia? but i do know what stuck out the most to me:
admittedly, i peeked at the set list before going to the show. i think i wanted to have an idea of what she was going to perform so i knew the words..but also i was curious. and i was a little bummed to see so many folklore and evermore songs on the list, as i have never seen TS before and wanted to hear her older music too. BUT, i think the older eras were fairly mixed in with the newer albums. i actually developed a lot more of an appreciation for folklore and evermore- since they weren’t my favorite before. as my friend who attended the show with me said, “the songs hit harder now.” watching marjorie performed live? wheezing. champagne problems? slapped. and i can’t forget to mention how gorgeous the willow performance was - it appealed to every witchy part of me. the hoods, evergreen trees, glowing orbs?? pure magic.
taylor did a great job of making these very different periods of time in her musical era cohesive. each era flowed into the other and just made sense. luckily because phoebe was opening at my show, we also got a performance of Nothing New.
The special effects were out of this world. Fire and fireworks during bad blood, which was really hot by the way! You could actually feel it. And interestingly, lavender dispensed into the crowd during lavender haze. I also thought it was special that little pieces of white paper dropped on us to imitate snow during All Too Well.
I really appreciated that Taylor’s team took this concerted effort to make sure everyone could see during the show. sometimes when you go to concerts, that’s not a thing, and you’re straining to see the entire time. Not here! Screens, a super long stage, and good views helped a ton.
I wish she performed more songs from Speak Now, but I also have a hunch that when TV comes out on July 7th, she will. I was floored by how beautiful she looked during Enchanted, and screaming that song with my best friend next to me was unforgettable. (That was basically our song all throughout college.)
My surprise songs were Gold Rush and Come Back Be Here because Phoebe requested it!! (Thanks girl, you had us there) Gold Rush is one of my favorite Taylor songs, and she finally confirmed ‘Eagles T-Shirt Hanging from the door’ is in fact a reference to the Philadelphia Eagles. Duh. Come Back Be Here made me feel fifteen again in a way that wasn’t so soul crushing.
Mostly, I couldn’t get over how down to earth Taylor’s stage presence was. Her personal anecdotes, the way she talked to the crowd like we were all best friends, it was disarming. For someone with as much star power and talent, I think I had very different expectations for what she’d be like. Even though the performance was huge, Taylor was grounded. I think this is another reason why its so important not to assume characteristics of celebrities and artists based on the tabloids…but I digress. I felt like I was given a part of her heart and inner world, and that was so special. A lot of TS’ music is actually very vulnerable and dark- despite how bright some of it is sonically. Much to think about for an emo girlie like me.
Needless to say, I am definitely changed by the show. I keep texting people and asking if I really went. Which I did, but like, was it real? Either way, I’m going to live with the memories forever.
love,
strega xo