After seeing Taylor Swift live in concert, I will forever be in my “Eras era.” Let’s rewind to the battle for tickets.
Tickets for Taylor’s anticipated Eras Tour went on sale back in November. I did what I was told and signed up for my verified fan code, and hopped on Ticketmaster in the morning. But so did everyone else. After six hours in a virtual queue line, I was left heartbroken with no tickets. Video for reference:
Fast forward to January. I put in my notice to leave the radio station I had worked at for seven years, and as a SUPER generous parting gift, my boss gave me a pair of tickets to Night 2 of the Eras Tour stop in Minneapolis. I couldn’t even believe what was happening.
I invited my friend Brooklyn to go with me and I spent a good month planning outfits, making friendship bracelets to trade at the show, memorizing the setlist, and making a list of the secret songs I wanted Taylor to play. Show day arrived, we did our hair and makeup and set off for US Bank Stadium in “Swiftieapolis”.
I was hoping we would be able to meet up with other friends we knew at the show, and I was optimistic about it until we actually got in the stadium. I have been to “sold out” shows before but I have never experienced crowds like that in my life. Even the sold-out Rammstein and Metallica shows I attended at US Bank Stadium were nothing in comparison to the sea of humanity that was there to see Taylor Swift. Merch lines wrapped around entire levels of the concourse, walking was reduced to shuffling, and bathroom lines were insane for the women’s room. (The men had it easy.)
Nevertheless, we made it to our seats in section 334, row 7, seats 19 & 20, and settled in for the biggest tour on the planet. The openers were Owenn and Girl in Red. I wasn’t familiar with their work but they were entertaining and played really short sets. They had to because Taylor went on right before 8 pm and had a marathon of a show to put on singing, dancing, and changing outfits for over 3 hours straight.
It was incredible to sing along to old favorites from the early eras and get to see my two favorite albums (Lover and Folklore) come to life for the first time. Another personal highlight for me was screaming every word to “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)(Taylor’s Version)(From the Vault).”
The secret songs portion of the evening came along and I was really hoping for “Message in a Bottle” and “Stay Beautiful”, but instead we got “Dear John” and “Daylight”. A true win for Minneapolis Swifties, as we were only 13 days from the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Before singing “Dear John” Taylor took time to address the crowd, thanking the fans for their support, and mentioning how much love and kindness she has seen from fans on the tour. She implored us to have that same love and compassion during our online activities and told us not to target people who some of her songs may have been written about in the past. (Looking at you John Mayer. But in a loving and supportive way, because Mother said so.)
The night wrapped with the Midnights era, another one of my absolute favorites, but I had heard bad things about trying to get out of the stadium and the parking ramps after the show, so with two songs left we grabbed our things and made it out of the building just as “Karma” was wrapping the show.
It was such an incredible experience, and I am so glad I got to share it with one of my best friends in the entire world. We have been besties since the Fearless era and it was so great to spend a day together making more wonderful memories. Until next time Taylor, come back soon!
The Small Town Tourist 
Leave a comment