taylorswift — music & shows — Natalie Kunce

Disclaimer: If you hate Taylor Swift, or dislike earenest declarations of admiration for Taylor Swift, I am afraid this is not for you!

Just wanted to get that out of the way!

It’d been nearly five years since Taylor Swift had played a live show and she had a lot of time and songs to cover. A prolific songwriter, Taylor’s released three new albums and two re-records of previous albums since the Reputation tour in 2018. Just three weeks ago she released another re-record from her stolen catalogue: the entirely self-written Speak Now, 13 years after its original release.

And she made time to stop by little ole Cincinnati to grace our show with not two but THREE surprise songs. It was a good day, the BEST day, if you will.

Mackenzie and I were lucky enough to get third row tickets, the closest I have ever been and will probably ever be at a Taylor show. It even still feels unreal to me–such a strange sensation knowing that Taylor experiences it two to three times a week. I know I don’t know Taylor and I never will, but to be in that close proximity to someone who has provided me a sense of calm and a realm for escapism for so long was like...very healing for my inner child. To revere her in such a strong and passionate manner is unconventional, irrational even–but for one night I was allowed to feel that and feed it and free it.

This show is an incredible feat of production, costume and stage design, stamina, artistry, choreography. It’s so emotional to think about because it is essentially Taylor’s entire career wrapped up into a three hour performance. While no songs from her debut album are included in the base setlist, and just one from Speak Now is included (for now), she relives every stage of the last 18 years of her life in 5 to 20 minute periods. From the costumes to the sparkly guitars (personally bedazzled by T’s parents, Andrea and Scott) to the band members who have been with her since the first time I saw her in 2009, experiencing this show up close was truly magical.

When “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore starts playing, that’s when the countdown begins, and shortly after a huge timer appears on the screen, counting down at 2 minutes to go.

As the song ends and the timer hits zero, a dreamy mashup of all Taylor’s greatest hits fills the stadium and finally Miss Swift rises up from the depths of the stage in all her glory and glitter, singing “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” in a bedazzled body suit, matching boots, and long blond hair free falling down her back. Suddenly she launches into timeless banger “Cruel Summer”, then takes a break to hype up the whole crowd for the bridge, as it is one for the ages. Suddenly the stands vibrate in proclamation:

I'M DRUNK IN THE BACK OF THE CAR AND I CRIED LIKE A BABY COMING HOME FROM THE BAR / SAID I'M FINE BUT IT WASN'T TRUE / I DON'T WANNA KEEP SECRETS JUST TO KEEP YOU / AND I SNUCK IN THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE EVERY NIGHT THAT SUMMER JUST TO SEAL MY FATE / AND I SCREAM FOR WHATEVER IT'S WORTH I LOVE YOU AINT THAT THE WORST THING YOU EVER HEARD

It is hard to believe it’s been four years since the summer this song came out–I’d make anyone who’d listen turn it on and watch with righteous indignation as they were forced to agree: this song fucks.

After introducing herself and welcoming all 65,000 of us to the ERA’S TOUR!!!!– we got a few more from Lover: ”The Man”, “You Need To Calm Down”, “Lover” and “The Archer.”

*(Live photo creds to Mack! Paul pictured here has been with Tay since the Fearless era and is a Cleveland, OH native!!)*

Then, lo and behold, Miss Swift and her band made their way right in front of me and Mackenzie, skipping happily into the Fearless era with the title track (I am literally crying thinking about it), followed by two more timeless Taylor tunes including “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story.”

Too soon we are whisked into the evermore forest–witchy capes and faux floating orbs included. The beginning guitar riff of “‘tis the damn season” plays as Tayor makes her way back onstage wearing a golden gown subtly embellished with crystals and lined with soft but regal ruffles–fit for a kind but powerful queen. Then “willow” is playing as Taylor conducts a crowd of cloaked dancers and their floating eyeballs–I didn’t know what was going on, Taylor later desribed it as 'sorcery.' Regardless, it was mesmerizing.

Taylor played ALLLL the evermore heavy hitters–”marjorie,” ”champagne problems,” and “tolerate it.” And if you were lucky enough to be at Cincinnati night 2, another very important track. More on that later.

Although reputation the album isn’t necessarily in my top Taylor albums (as of right now, it is ever changing!), I think it is one of her most important periods both personally and artistically, therefore is one of my favorite eras. It is easy for me to empathize with Taylor, a straight-passing, cisgender, white woman–but I can't imagine anyone would react well to millions of people telling them to disappear. For her to have felt the need to completely disappear–to contemplate the possibility of no longer making music, what she was very clearly ushered into this lifetime to do.

If you listen to what Taylor has to say, you'll learn the lengths to which she will mold herself to make others comfortable, happy, satisfied. She admitted to toeing the line on a lot of sensitive topics to placate a broader audience, but she is slowly abandoning that strategy.

Of course people still proclaim proud declarations of hating Taylor Swift, dismissing her talent, undermining her intelligence (and even more so that of her fans). While often Swiftie's aggressive and defensive nature can be chalked up to an unhealthy parasocial relationship with Taylor, I am here to tell you my goal when dealing with Taylor haters is to drown out that hate with love (and 'have you ever listened to 'Death By A Thousand Cuts'?).

For her to come back–and come back fiercer and stronger and healthier: that is what reputation was all about. It was joyful to relive its high points: the array of dancers dressed up as historically accurate versions of Taylor trapped in boxes, screaming 1-2-3 let’s go bitch (entire stadium including Tay’s cast participating) at the beginning of “Delicate”, worshiping at the heels of the worlds greatest pop star during “Don’t Blame Me.”

Reputation really did allow Taylor to shed her skin, just like a snake. Much to the chagrin of her haters, what was intended to be an insult grew into a beautifully relevant metaphor for rebirth.

Rats, on the other hand, just eat garbage and carry disease.

Next we got a very brief foray into Speak Now Taylor serenading us with “Enchanted” as she strolled the stage in a dazzling pink gown, sparkles included and reminiscent of Cinderella. Perhaps a harkening back to Easter eggs for Speak Now dropped in the Midnights era “Bejeweled” video.

*Another wild picture from Mackenzie’s round up*

Before I knew it Taylor was sauntering down the stage in a replica of her infamous outfit from the “22” music video. She skips down the stage to one lucky fan whom she greets by name then hands off her (signed) hat. At our show, Ally was picked, a four time cancer survivor and lifetime Taylor fan who’s first concert was a Taylor show. YES I AM CRYING AND SO ARE YOU JUST ADMIT IT!!!

Taylor then played all the RED era classics–”We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and the entirety of the ten minute version of “All Too Well.”

I had earplugs in for most of the show–but during the second verse of ATW I popped them out because I knew this was a moment I wanted to experience in all its glory. While I can’t say that RED was ever a Taylor period I was deeply invested in in the moment (more on this in my reflection on RED (Taylor’s Version)), it is hard to deny the impact and influence of a person who has hundreds of thousands of people every weekend singing every word to a ten minute and 13 second song. Even the security guard standing in front of me sang along to every word.

For this song to at once be a pain point for Taylor to perform, the original version being nearly 6 minutes shorter, to now being a ten minute period of camaraderie and catharsis for not only her but her hundreds of thousands of fans; to live through that and experience it in real time with others who truly, genuinely appreciate it (not to mention my lifelong best friend!!!) inevitably replaces painful memories with a beautiful remembering of being completely present in that moment.

As we’re transported to the folklore cabin, Taylor appears atop the roof to reminisce about what could have been during “the 1.” She climbs down to join her band, starting on the first of the folklore love triangle tracks. We were a mere, I don’t know, 50 feet from Taylor and her band as we screamed together “would you tell me to go FUCK myself?? Or lead me to the garden??”

"The Last Great American Dynasty" has always made me emotional as Taylor loves to say it’s ‘not biographical’–but the parallels are so distinct. If you don’t know this song please go listen to it first–it chronicles the life of Rebekah Harkness who previously lived in the Rhode Island beach house Taylor now owns.

Successful on her own as an American composer, socialite, sculptor, dancer, and philanthropist, Rebekah married into massive Standard Oil wealth. She was shamed for her lifestyle, blamed for her husband's death, and detested by the locals. Fifty years later a certain someone bought the house– and would memorialize the so-called ‘maddest woman the town had ever seen’ in a song that’d be listened to and loved by millions. Or loved and listened to millions of times by me, in the least.

Then before I could even begin to gather my emotional bearings this bitch starts in on “August” and it was as if my soul ascended from the stadium. Ethereally floating across the stage, green dress billowing, we collectively reminisced: ‘Back when we were still changing for the better / wanting was enough / For me it was enough, to live for the hope of it all.’

Taylor sang a quick interlude of “Illicit Affairs” before the haunting coos that dot the beginning of “My Tears Ricochet” filled the stadium. Another painful but powerful anthem, it felt personal to sing this with Taylor–to echo her words back to her as an affirmation that what happened was tragic, a deep and traumatic loss. She’s got a grip on her narrative though–this is not one that people can misconstrue: her work was stolen, everyone deserves to own their work without compromise, and she is reclaiming it.

All too suddenly Taylor is on stage in a sparkly, orange two-piece number and matching booties and we are ass shaking to “Style” which is absolutely an ass-shaking song if you know how. 1989 is one of T’s most popular albums and her first project with pop-savant Jack Antonoff. The expected hits are all played– “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off”, and “Wildest Dreams” and “Bad Blood.”

Then it was surprise song o’clock and the air was thick with anticipation. It was hard to contain my excitement as we all waited for Taylor to announce what extra track we’d be hearing her sing that night. But wait–she was wondering, would we mind, if maybe she played a song she’d never played before? Mackenzie and I looked at each other, racking our brains of what it could possibly be. The internet had told us it was absolutely to be “Right Where You Left Me”, the first bonus track off evermore–but wait. Taylor was asking–she’s been collaborating with someone quite a lot lately and they’re a Cincinnati native. Would we at all mind if she brought them out to play it with her? Out comes Aaron Dessner looking as mousy and cute as ever–and I couldn’t help but exclaim aloud “I have never been more happy to see a straight white man in my life!!!” It was true!

As they hugged and we all tried to keep our composure, Taylor made her way back to the mike and exclaimed “Okay so we’re going to play “Ivy”” and the entire crowd went absolutely FERAL. I giggle when I think about it because she absolutely knew what she was doing–dropping the title and barging right into the song, giving us no time to recover and before I know it we're all screaming "CLOVER BLOOMS IN THE FIELD / SPRING BREAKS LOOSE THE TIME NEAR IS NEAR / WHAT WE HE DO IF HE FOUND US OUT???"

It is a gift only Taylor can give–and Cincinnati Night 2 was chosen to hear the first live performance of one of the greatest and gayest Taylor bridges of all time. It was so beautifully arranged–just Tay strumming the main chords while Aaron effortlessly carried the melody on another guitar, bobbing his head along, occasionally mouthing the lyrics and looking over at Taylor with gentle admiration.

Aaron made his way off stage and Taylor asked everyone to give another round of applause for MUNA and wasn’t it a bummer that Gracie Abrams wasn’t able to play? "Would it be alright if we did three surprise songs tonight?" inducing deafening cheers, from yours truly included. Out pops Gracie from the middle of the stage to join Taylor at the end of the runway, taking a seat at the piano. Taylor says they’re going to play one of Gracie’s songs–”I miss you, I’m Sorry” and as the song ends Mackenzie is looking over at me, actively crying: “It must have been so cool, just like a crazy moment for her.”

As Gracie departs the stage,Taylor nestles her gorgeous koa wood guitar, ‘Taylor’ inscribed in mother of pearl along the neckline, against the piano and takes a seat. A song that needs no introduction, she began “Call It What You Want”, stoically tapping out the melody on the keys, but singing every word with purpose, remembering. I wish I could replay this part over and over and over–a thought that loomed the entirety of the night.

Finally, Taylor rises up on the stage in a purple sequin t-shirt and matching fluffy blue-bear looking coat. The beat of “Lavender Haze” fills every crevice of the stadium, while all around programmed wristbands pulse in a purple hue, lighting up every person for Taylor to see.

As the risen stage descends back down, she ditches the jacket and skips up to the main stage to begin the first verse of “Anti-Hero.” I remember when Midnights first came out last fall how fun it would be to be to scream “IT’S ME HI I'M THE PROBLEM IT’S ME!!!” with tens of thousands of other adoring Taylor fans–and it lived up to all my expectations (second only to singing it with Miss Marcella Jean who already knows the words!).

Mid-show there was some rain and so tents were put up over the band's equipment, partially obstructing the stage. During the first chorus of “Anti-Hero” Taylor made her way over to the right, popped her head past the tent to wave to everyone a little ways back. She did the same on the left side of the stage during the second chorus. She can’t see every single person–but she does her best to acknowledge everyone who came, a common theme I’ve noticed at every tour of hers I’ve attended.

I really did my best to scroll past tour spoilers of things I wasn’t inherently aware of (I understood some songs were obviously to be included, re: “22”, “August”, “Lavender Haze”), so I was pleasantly surprised when “Midnight Rain” was included in its entirety. As the song ends, Taylor ducks underneath a tent of gigantic umbrellas, emerging in the “Vigilante Shit” bodysuit, garter and all.

Then came a song I was very much looking forward to, strictly for dancing purposes. “Bejeweled” is the perfect bouncy, happy, bitchy, you-don’t-know-what-you-have-til-its-gone anthem. Then the next Midnights track, and the second to last of the setlist, “Mastermind" begins.

Despite the fact that Taylor is the complete brain power behind her entire career as a musician and songwriter; despite the fact that she’s sold millions, if not BILLIONS, of albums, broken countless records, written over a dozen record-breaking albums; despite the tens of thousands of hours dedicated to her meeting and connecting with fans (always free of charge); despite all this–she cannot control what other people think. She cannot control what the public perceives of her. But what she can control, she will, and she will do it with the skill and ease of a well-trained assassin. A mastermind.

As Taylor gives the crowd her most gracious thank you’s, the intro of “Karma” starts, the most fun end to the most fun night. Going through an entire lifetime's worth of work–just to end the entire thing with a reflection on the timeless adage. You know, “Karma is my boyfriend, Karma is a god, Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend, Karma’s a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?”?

Bear with me for a bit longer: will we ever know the truth about the details of Taylor’s very sussed out and over-contemplated private life? No. Whatever the words mean to Taylor, they mean something to me, and to many other people. Music has this power to create a bubble of empathy–if only for a few minutes. Someone who knows every word to “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is likely a friend of mine, if only for four minutes and thirty-eight seconds.

The Era’s Tour is a chance to experience this sensation for three hours, and relive nine different albums and era’s of Taylor’s life. If you’ve been around as long as I have (and a lot of us have), that's also nine different eras of one's own life. It’s time capsules of songs to pass down to your kids, to your sisters’ kids, to the next generation of closeted queer kids, and songwriting junky lunatics; hidden messages to share when you can’t quite figure out the words yourself; the one thing that can calm a rapidly beating heart in a moment of panic.

If you made it through this entire thing, I applaud you. If you scrolled through for the visual aids, I hope you enjoyed them. If you made it through this entire thing and you’re not an active Taylor listener, I hope I have swayed you to give her a chance if only as a favor to ME! I think you’d be pleasantly surprised if you did.

Because being a Swiftie is the shit, and I'll go to my grave saying that.

Did you attend the Era’s tour? What were your surprise songs? What would be your dream surprise song duo for the Era’s Tour?

Leave a comment below.