13 thoughts on Taylor Swift and the Eras Tour
Plus, Kareem on HLG, Kate on dogs and Lambchop, and Proper Chunes courtesy Gracie Abrams and Doechii
Welcome to Oh Messy Life, the column that deserves prison but won’t get time.
Last week, Leah and I took a red-eye from Vancouver to Toronto to see Taylor Swift live in concert. It was a trip more than a year in the making. I wasn't always sure it would happen.
Initially, it seemed like the Eras Tour would skip Canada entirely. Then tour dates were announced in Toronto and Vancouver and everybody lost their minds. 31 million people alone registered for tickets to the Toronto dates. The city's actual population is just over 3 million. Rogers Centre, where the concert was held, can fit about 50,000 people.
Basically, the odds were never in our favour.
After getting waitlisted for both shows, we toyed with the idea of buying resale on the grey market, but prices were high, and the whole thing felt kind of gross. Leah was convinced it would all work out. Amazingly, it did. Friends of the ‘sletter Alex and Kate, decided, after securing tickets in the Verified Sale, that they had other travel priorities. They sold us their seats at face value, for no reason other than sweet friendship, and the fact we would enjoy the show.
For better or worse, The Eras Tour is one of the decade’s defining cultural experiences, spanning almost two years, and grossing more than a billion dollars along the way. As someone who has followed Taylor's career since Fearless, here are some thoughts from Night 2 in Toronto…
“You knew the price going in.”
The Eras Tour essentially functions as a small economy, generating millions in revenue for Taylor and her team, as well as local businesses. And you can feel the money in the room. Some of this is speculative, like looking at other attendees and wondering how much they paid for their tickets. But other things are much more tangible. Lineups for merch that span the entire concourse (T-shirts $60, hoodies $110, all of it pre-tax), but also bespoke food and beverage offerings like ‘Hi, I’m The Popcorn, It’s Me’, and ‘Bejeweled Pretzel’. Specialty cocktails were going for $30. We got the ‘T&T’ chicken tenders and tots for $24.
“Make the friendship bracelets”
One upside to the high price of admission, however, is that it seemed to improve concert etiquette. You can’t really attend a Taylor Swift concert casually. It requires some level of personal investment, be it time or money. Those in attendance really want to be there. They understand the concert is a big deal and act accordingly. We saw people handing out friendship bracelets, but also being considerate to those around them, engaging in emotional regulation. T his felt extremely refreshing given the sorry state of most public events post-pandemic.
“What you're looking for has been here the whole time”
Watching the crowd, I also realized: Swifties get a bad rap. Like, yes, they can be completely delusional and obsessive. But the same could be said of pretty much any true fandom in 2024. Caring about stuff is inherently cringe, but it is so much better than detached irony. Stop deriding other people’s interests to make yourself seem more interesting.
“Big reputation”
Seeing Taylor IRL also humanizes her in a way I did not expect. She’s a pop star, but she’s also a person. Imperfect, yes. But knowing this makes her accomplishments seem more impressive, weirdly.
“This is me trying”
That said, she definitely lip-syncs at some points. The concert is 3.5 hours long, so I don’t hold it against her.
“Take away the pain”
Really, I don’t know how she performs for 3.5 hours every night. My knees were hurting as we hit 1989 and we had three or four Eras to celebrate after that. I’m too old for this shit. I sat through most of Reputation.
“This thing was a masterpiece, 'til you tore it all up”
I’ve written about this before but the 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’ remains inferior to the original. It takes a sharp, gut-wrenching song, and turns it into this plodding, unfocused mess. Yes, there are some iconic lines. But that shit drags on, especially live.
She would hate this comparison, but I think it’s interesting that both Taylor and Kanye have given up on editing at this point in their careers. Taylor's back catalog remains less bloated but still. Brevity is the art of wit.
“You'll find the real thing instead”
At the same time, Taylor can write a fucking song. Her ability to move between genres, from the stadium-sized pop of Midnights and Reputation to the more indie-infused moments of folklore and evermore is honestly remarkable. Not a lot of artists have that range, and I think the Eras Tour celebrates that. The live rendition of ‘Champagne Problems’ was just as devastating as expected. Huge Chune.
“Can we always be this close?”
Sometimes I play the game of trying to guess which songs will last one hundred years. I think ‘Lover’ is the closest Taylor has come to producing something timeless. Part of this is because the song sort of exists outside her personal lore, but it’s also well-constructed and hits as hard as anything from the Great American Songbook.
“Burning flames or paradise”
The setlist does include several stinkers, though. Most notably ‘Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?’, ‘Vigilante Shit’, and ‘Shake It Off’. I know that last one is a hit but c’mon. There are about a dozen other songs I would rather hear live, and she plays it in FULL.
“Only bought this dress so you could take it off”
As someone who once drew more than a little stylistic inspiration from Tom Delonge, I understand the desire to pay tribute to Taylor’s various Eras via clothing. I didn’t keep a close tally, but my impression is that Midnights was the primary inspiration for many in attendance, though millennial women still seemed to favour Red. There were a lot of black fedoras and ‘22’ t-shirts.
“Please don't be in love with someone else”
After the show, someone asked me why Taylor Swift is such a big deal. I think there are several contributing factors, but maybe the biggest is that she is a multi-generational artist. She appeals to geriatric millennials, but also Gen Z and Gen Alpha. In other words, this tour is a family affair. She’s basically Disney.
“Try and come for my job”
Not trying to be funny, not trying to get a laugh, I don't want anyone to have the worst day of their job... but Gracie Abrams is not the right opener for this kind of tour. She doesn’t have the stage presence yet, and the setlist lacked some much-needed energy. My eyes were fluttering.
Oh Messy Life
Runaway train: It was so nice to hear go tit-for-tat with and Chris Black on a recent episode of How Long Gone. Also, I followed his advice and invested in some Liquid I.V. from Costco. Maximum hydration, maximum savings.
Why You So Obsessed With Me? The journalistic equivalent of ‘high-low’ is when a writer takes a silly subject extremely seriously. Case in point: on why dogs love Lambchop. The last graf ruined me.
finished tour and is once again posting regularly on Substack. Some beautiful writing about election night, a short story for paid subs, and now an experiment with audio. Is there anything she can’t do?
Help Wanted: is looking for someone to co-host her podcast. If you’re lucky enough to live in L.A. hit her up.
And I was sad to read that has decided to hit pause on the Anti-Matter newsletter. Thankfully he went out swingin’.
Proper Chune
She shouldn’t be playing stadiums, but Gracie did kinda go off with this one. The bridge was very good live.
I also fuck with this Doechii record.