Taylor Swift @ Soldier Field : A Concert for the Girls and the Gays to kick off Pride Month
Taylor Swift Review: A Concert for the Girls and the Gays to kick off Pride Month
Witnessing the Eras Tour at Soldier Field last Friday was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Literally, because if you ask the Swifties, they are willing to pay an arm and a leg to be as close to Taylor Swift as they possibly can. However, if you’ve ever met a Taylor fan, you know that they’ll appreciate every second of this 3-hour-long phenomenal experience. Because it’s not a show, it is an experience.
Granted, for someone who goes on tour with 4 new albums (Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Midnights) written and published in the last 5 years in addition to the re-recordings (Red, Fearless, announced: “Speak Now”), the expectations were high. But as the show ended almost a quarter to midnight, and fireworks lit the sky, I couldn’t help thinking that she exceeded even those.
Now, let’s talk about details, and by that I mean, the eras, in order of performance:
1. Lover
Photo by Sloane Johnson
2. Fearless
3. Evermore
4. Reputation
5. Speak Now
6. Red
7. Folklore
8. 1989
9. Midnights
Swift opted out of songs from her self-titled album, but for the albums she did choose from, her transitions were seamless. While one era slowly faded away, for example, by burning the “lover” house down, the next one appeared through teasers. By showing snakes on-screen, Swift introduced us to “Reputation” while she quickly changed outfits backstage. Taylor joked that her acoustic set dress only fits 70% of the time since she has to change into it in complete darkness. Her surprise songs of the night included “I Wish You Would” and “the lakes,” which she sang angelically while accompanying herself on the guitar and piano.
When talking about a Swift concert, one needs to mention the fans as well, as they are a crucial part of the experience. Looking at the stadium from a bird’s eye perspective, the crowd must have resembled a pink, glittery cloud of people wearing stunning outfits to represent their favorite era. From catwalk seats to nosebleeds, every fan knew the lyrics and screamed them at the top of their lungs (and screaming should be emphasized here, specifically, an almost 5-minute-long session of just noise after the song “marjorie” where Taylor interacts with the crowd, telling us, “You are so loud.”). Not only was the volume of the crowd but the fans' knowledge of every single line of every single song was also astonishing.
“I can’t believe you guys know the words,” Taylor surprisingly said after starting to play “the lakes,” a bonus track on folklore.
But that’s just what’s so special about Swifties, they love the songs not only for their beautiful melodies but for the stories Taylor tells through them. Specifically with “folklore”, she explained the background of creating this album and how she felt like a Victorian fairy in her head when she wrote it during quarantine. The 16 songs revolve around fictional narrative characters - a teenage love triangle – which stands in stark contrast to the rest of her albums, that are, in her words, shockingly “autobiographical”. Standing in the crowd during “All too well” 10-minute version about a two-month situationship (and someone who just refuses to give a scarf back), is a moment that people will talk about years from now.
This whole tour is an experience people will talk about for a long time, as it is the most-female attended concert in U.S. history so far. Additionally, Taylor just keeps breaking records, the last one being her own, that she broke as the biggest Spotify streaming day for an artist. In other words, she is competing with herself. But her music alone is not the only thing that makes her concerts unique. The onstage show resembled a musical and even a theater performance at times. For example, the whole story of the song “the last great american dynasty” about a ‘misfit widow getting gleeful revenge on the town that cast her out’ (which is based on the real-life Rebekah Harness and almost completely historically accurate) was entirely being acted out onstage by two incredibly talented dancers.
While a huge highlight of Swift’s performance is massive dance sequences, breathtaking built sets, shiny colors, fancy outfits, and lots of props to interact with ( the stool dance during “vigilante sh*t” that has queer girls' jaws on the floor), she contrasted these moments perfectly with occasions of simplicity. Specifically, in “tolerate it” only herself and one other dancer took the stage, sitting on opposing sides of a long table. The song is track 5 of Taylor’s ninth album “evermore”, where the fifth spot of her albums is known to be reserved for her most vulnerable song. This song in particular is about the continuous struggle of wanting love from someone who isn’t even paying attention to anything you do for them.
While theatrics, dancing, and fireworks are important aspects of the show, it’s crucial to note that Taylor doesn’t only utilize her stage time for entertainment either. Shortly after performing her song “You Need to calm down” – a song discussing the ridiculousness of homophobia – she took a moment to wish the audience a Happy Pride Month and advocated for change in legislation and voting.
“I’m looking out tonight, I’m seeing so many incredible individuals who are living authentically and beautifully, and this is a safe space for you…We can’t talk about Pride without talking about pain. Right now and recently there have been so many harmful pieces of legislation that have put people in the LGBTQ+ and queer community at risk,” Swift said.
The 44-song setlist carried the audience through the mind of Taylor Swift, allowing fans both old and new to join her in remembrance of her discography. Swift’s set and The Era’s Tour is an experience the world will remember all too well.
Words: Shalyn Delhaes
