In 2009, my mom bought me the Fearless CD. We were visiting Florida and went into a Target, where she pointed out a whole shelf dedicated to the album. “Isn’t she one of the singers you like?” she asked, and she actually wasn’t. At the time, my music taste consisted exclusively of Disney Channel royalty (Miley, Selena, Demi, and the Jonas Brothers) but I knew about Taylor by association. I also knew she was a country artist, and I was not a country fan, but we got the CD anyway. In the next month or so, I learned every single lyric to every song, including words I had never heard before, and I believe it’s one of the things that helped me become fully bilingual at an early age. More than fifteen years later, those lyrics are still ingrained in my brain, and Taylor Swift has been my favorite artist through all stages of my life. Though, since I grew up in a country that to this day she’s never been to, I only got the chance to hear any of those songs live a few days ago, when she brought The Eras Tour to Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The excitement around the six shows was, of course, imminent since they were announced, but I don’t think anyone could truly grasp the magnitude of it all until a few weeks before her arrival. All kinds of businesses had planned full rollouts around the city, and anything you could think of became Taylor-related. Street signs were changed, roads were closed, new public transportation announcements were made for it, fast-food chains were giving out bracelets, special cookies, special drinks, special pretzels, special toilet paper (that last one is not true, but you get my point). The city fully stopped for her, it became her city, and nothing else mattered for about a month.
So for over two weeks, me and so many Taylor-on-tour first-timers made our way through the city being bombarded with her face and shimmering aesthetic. Every day during those two weeks, I had this overwhelming feeling in my heart, a sort of mix of excitement and of it all just being too much for me. Eleven-year-old me had never left me and I wasn’t sure if adult me could emotionally survive what it all meant.
I must confess that my first Eras tour didn’t end up being the one I went to watch; I actually got a job early in the year that inadvertently involved me being there for every single show (this was not something that I knew until my interview, which makes it all even more serendipitous!). From the first Thursday of shows, I had to pretend that I didn’t want to be crying with all of the fans coming in, solely at the sight of the stage. Sparkles took over the place, cowboy boots, the pajama pants and t-shirt from the “You Belong With Me” music video, the Lover heart on their faces. Thousands of people with the number 13 drawn on their hands, the same one Taylor used to draw when she was a teenager, and the same one I drew on my own hand for all my high school volleyball games.
While I worked, I tried to subtly show the fans that I was one of them. I was just as excited as them, even if I was technically not going to be able to see the show. Some people noticed, some plain out asked how I felt, got excited with and for me, most gave me friendship bracelets. This pre-show experience was evidently so rewarding for everyone, and it’s no wonder why it has become such an essential part of the tour itself. In a way, it’s probably a big part of what has made this tour in particular such a worldwide phenomenon. (Don’t worry folks, we will talk about Taylor being on stage soon enough, but) I can’t talk about the actual performance without mentioning the wonderful community her and her music have built outside of the shows themselves, the friendly and welcoming atmosphere that inundated the venue, and even the way my own coworkers were openly glad that the fans were so gentle, so polite to the staff, and just so grateful to be there.
Throughout the nights I was on the clock, I couldn’t –and also tried not to– see too much of the show. I had done a surprisingly good job at not spoiling myself: I didn’t watch The Eras Tour movie, I didn’t look at the setlist, and there were outfits that I had actually not seen. I did all of that in the hopes that I would eventually get to see it all live for the first time (got fake it till you make it, and I did!) And so, having never seen this magnetic force of a woman in real life, I can say that I don’t think any feeling will ever compare to the one I felt once the Taylor Swift emerged on stage. The night appropriately opened up with a sort of medley of her eras, until she was uncovered by her dancers to the lyric “it’s been a long time coming.”
Queue the tears, naturally, as I realize she is a real, living, human girl.
I had this same revelation (of the fact that she actually exists) at least eight times throughout the night, but the first one was certainly the most intense. Following up with “Cruel Summer,” the first bridge of the night was more than enough to get everyone going, and to show the level of passion being held inside the sold-out stadium, as well as the power she beholds, the type that is usually attributed to men, just like she sings next on, you guessed it, “The Man.” She closed the first era with the album title-song, “Lover,” which also just happens to be mine and so many Swifties’ dream wedding song.
Now, the real kicker I think was to see the stage turn gold, and to subsequently see Taylor come out in a more modern version of the type of dresses she used to wear when she was younger. The Fearless Era. Hearing the first note of the title track, a song that I have known by heart for more than half of my life, was an inexplicable experience (picture me sobbing again here). The whole concept of a greatest hits tour, at still such an early age and stage of your career, is such a considerate thing to do for fans that might have never seen Taylor Swift live before. She mentions it during the night too, “if you’ve never seen me live before, I hope this night makes you feel like you saw me on all those other tours too.” It obviously will never be the same, and I am (healthily, I think) jealous of those who did get to experience all of those other tours live for the past decade and a half, but it was still so dazzling to get to see a piece of it. The nostalgia was only enhanced by her dynamic with her long-time band members, people who have seen her grow up, and who get their own time to shine on the stage as Taylor makes sure to give them their own moments.
A similar but different type of reminiscence took over during the Red section of the show. It was truly like travelling back in time to 2012. It is also then when you remember that she is a millennial, and one that set the tone at that. That whole period and album –although still including mostly heartbreaking anthems– brings such a fun and youthful side of the singer. She’s just having a good time, dating around, being literally twenty two years old and finding her place in the industry. During this portion there is also a moment each night that has become one of the fans’ favorites, when Kam Saunders, one of the dancers, gets to say something related to each city during “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and even having to come up with SIX different Toronto references, he did an impeccable job.
Since the beginning of the tour, there hasn’t been a Taylor Swift (her self-titled debut album) segment on the show, which I guess I understand, considering she has certainly walked away from that sound and is twenty years older than she was when she wrote those songs. However, there is also no Speak Now segment either, except for “Enchanted” –“Long Live” used to be on the setlist but got removed once The Tortured Poets Department came into play– and this is truly one of my only critiques about the show. With time, fans have learned that she apparently doesn’t appreciate this album the way so many of us do, but I personally think Speak Now is one of her most consistent albums and it deserves better, so it was heartbreaking to learn the only song included was the one TikTok revived a few years ago.
With that said, and although an avid fan, I do question some of Taylor’s choices sometimes (re: the previous paragraph) and I actually questioned reputation as a whole at a time. But I get it now, my frontal lobe is fully developed and I understand the significance and greatness of that album and that era as a whole. The way Taylor’s demeanor does a 180° during this part of the night is baffling. This is not the same person! This is not the girl in her cute little dresses and curly hair, singing about boys and being confused about the world. This is a whole woman, and a bad ass bitch.
The production is astonishing, it makes you understand why the rep tour was in everyone’s mouth, even if it (allegedly) didn’t sell that well. It brings out all her star power, her range, her unquestionable talent, and her ability to make a statement. I was in awe with every single detail that went into this segment; the way the floor “cracked” during “Delicate,” the lights during “Don’t Blame Me,” the choreography and all the “old Taylors” during “Look What You Made Me Do.” I was not big on reputation for so long, but I am now a changed woman. It is by far the best part of the entire show, and I can confirm reputation’s reputation is well-earned.
With a bit of an abrupt change, folklore and evermore, or “folkmore,” have the difficult task of following up the rep era. I sadly did notice this was the part where most people would leave the floor to go to the bathroom, get food and/or drinks, or line up for merch. I kind of get it, it’s a slower segment, it’s also the newest music at that point of the night, but those are also two of the albums that never got a tour, and they’re two of Taylor’s most critically acclaimed projects. She also did find a way to make it more compelling, she takes more time to talk to the crowd, she shares some sweet moments with her band and backup singers, and the song choices are perfectly curated.
Finding a perfect way to bring the energy back up though, the immaculate 1989 came just in time to awaken the audience again. Looking outside of the actual show for a moment, during this is when most of the people in the ballpark were also enjoying themselves. Everybody knows at least two songs from this album, no matter if you learned the lyrics voluntarily or were forced to listen to it repeatedly while working a retail job. “Style”, “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off”, “Wildest Dreams”, and “Bad Blood”. All certified bangers and no one dares to say otherwise. Bartenders and concession stand workers were dancing and singing to each other and to fans, guards and police officers would be singing along, and even my own older male friends at work would find me each night to say “this is my favorite song” during 1989. It was another amazing way Taylor’s impact came to light. With this album is how she completely established herself as the main pop girl, and its timeless singles are proof of that.
One highly acclaimed album after another, The Tortured Poets Department is now on the run for Album Of The Year at the Grammys, and I am oh! So thankful to have heard it live (even if it’s the reason why “Long Live” and “the last great american dynasty” are no longer on the setlist). She starts it up by singing one of my favorites from the album, “But Daddy I Love Him,” which is a hilarious choice since it was (semi) discreetly calling out all the “fans” that went out of their way to harass her for dating someone they didn’t like. It’s a great song and sets the mood so perfectly because, although it can get sad, TTPD is a truly entertaining album as well.
As she transitioned into “High School” she referenced the Swifties’ beloved boyfriend Travis Kelce, by doing his signature “bow-and-arrow” (or “Archer” !!!) pose, which for some inexplicable reason brought me to tears – I honestly just love love, and it makes me so happy that Taylor is so in love. Watching her perform “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” a few minutes later, felt a little surreal and almost meta, since it’s basically her singing about how this whole thing is an act, and we would never know if she’s actually having a horrible time on or off stage. I hope she wasn’t.
Riding the high of this newest section of the show, Taylor then turns the place into an intimate show to deliver her nightly surprise songs. Yes, I did technically get to hear twenty four surprise songs (twelve mashups to be exact) but I only got to fully experience the four of my night. And it was only fitting I got to hear a song about Mr. Joe Jonas, “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” since before I was a Swiftie, I was a die-hard Jonas Brothers fan. I am not as big on Vault songs since they’re still technically new and the nostalgic touch is not as present, but the crowd seemed to absolutely love it, getting laughs from Taylor herself as she said “Oh, you guys know that one, huh?!”
And then, thank God, I got a Speak Now song. She did sing the new, moth-version of “Better Than Revenge” (although most of the crowd sang the original mattress-version) which did enlighten the sentimentality of getting to hear an older song live after so long. The second mashup was also a treat; “State Of Grace” is one of Taylor’s best from arguably one of her best albums, Red. Once again, the audience went mad –although I do think any song would get the same reaction– and I, of course, weeped. She mixed that one with “Labyrinth” from Midnights, a great song that I can appreciate even if it also doesn’t spark that sense of nostalgia in me.
As she has done since the tour began, she closed out the night with Midnights. It makes sense and it is only right that this is the last era, considering it’s the album that prompted the tour and her most recent one up until the release of TTPD. However, it does feel just a tiny little bit anticlimactic. To be fair, and considering it’s a 3-hour show, it’s also inevitable that a good portion of the audience is getting restless and tired by that point, so I do believe whichever album was last might have suffered the same fate, but it does kind of feel like it just doesn’t hit as hard. I do believe that once we look back to this tour and what it meant for Taylor, the fans, and the music industry as a whole, it won’t feel like it fell short though. Putting on a mesmerizing show that is so long is already such an achievement that could never be diminished by the last fifteen or so minutes of it. And Midnights did break records and won Grammys so Taylor can do whatever she wants with it and close with it until she dies.
It really feels strange to write a review about an artist like Taylor Swift. Everything I said has most likely, if not definitely already been said. She is the music industry, and she only seems to be reaching new levels of “peak” status everyday, so it’s difficult to come up with anything other than “she is amazing and she deserves all the praise”. But I am mostly just grateful that we got to live through this time with her.
We have watched her grow up as we have grown up, we have gone through things she has gone through, her songs have taken different shapes and meanings in my life and so many other people’s lives at different points in time. I knew about love before I knew about love because of her, and I am forever changed because she decided to share all of that with us.
The Eras Tour is a celebration of her career and her music, but it’s also a celebration of us, of the fans, of the casual listeners, of the victims of retail store playlists. Of all the years we’ve spent watching her grow, fall, change, and evolve, but always coming back better than before. This is Taylor’s world and we’re just living in it.
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour will have its final run in Vancouver, BC Dec 6-8.
Show Date: 11.21.24 // Toronto, Canada @ Rogers Centre // Taylor Swift is Real! My Emotional Journey Through The Eras Tour
Photos By TAS Rights Management, Words by Javi Zamorano