Glendale, Ariz. When Taylor Swift says she’s going to bring an era of her career to the stage, believe her.
Not since the loudest days of Bruce Springsteen and his famous live concerts has a mainstream artist packed so much music into one show. On Friday night at State Farm Stadium near Phoenix, Swift opened The Eras Tour with a staggering 44 songs performed over a span of three hours and 15 minutes.
But more than a roll call of her ubiquitous smash singles and fan-beloved album Cuts, Swift’s show is as ambitious as a Broadway musical. Multiple moving set pieces, squads of dancers and backup singers, a quick-changing costume parade, confetti, pyro, synchronized blinking wristbands and a grand curved video screen to blanket the view of her ever-smiling in the farthest rafters to her songs. while his multi-faceted band sat unobtrusively on a corner of the stage.
True to its title, The Eras Tour virtually covered every aspect of Swift’s career, from her low-key rendition of her 2006 debut single, “Tim McGraw,” to the set-closing “Karma” from her current “Midnights” album. As far as. (Only her 2010 “Speak Now” album got a single representation, the lovely “Enchanted.”)
Swift remarked at the start of the concert that she knew her fans – some 70,000 of them on this night – went through “considerable effort” to attend the show, and that her singing, dancing, storytelling, sweating And through both on the main stage and the long catwalk, he rewarded them emphatically.
The Eras Tour expands to the country for 51 more dates through August, including a second round in Glendale on Saturday. As agile as Swift is at 33, it’s a grueling show that will require enormous stamina for the next five months.
But if any artist can achieve the level of perfection he demands of himself, it’s Swift.
Here are some highlights of Swift’s career overview.
‘boyfriend’ era
As Leslie Gore’s 1963 narration song “You Don’t Own Me” blasted through the stadium, a clock began a countdown to show the time—as if these Swifty disciples needed their anticipation boost.
“Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” served as the opening salvo as Swift, Willow in silver sequined boots and a leotard implementing the pastel color motif of her “Lover” album, walked down the catwalk on a large platform. picked up from what was often a set piece during the show.
Since Swift never toured behind her 2019 album due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it marked the live debut of “Cruel Summer” and allowed for a live performance of “The Man” with Swift, in which Swift sang a Donned the fabulous sparkly jacket to settle on a sleek one. The Office Set and a cool remix of “You Need to Calm Down”.
Her joy at returning to the stage for the first time since 2018 was evident, with Swift taking a few moments to absorb the praise.
“I don’t know how to address the way it’s making me feel right now,” she said, clearly moved.
‘fearless’ era
Swift belted out a trio of songs from her 2008 release, in a short gold dress and accompanied by a matching guitar.
While walking down the catwalk during “You Belong With Me”, a quartet of band members tripped her up in formation. She ended the song with her arms around her four background singers before rolling into an upbeat “Love Story”.
the ‘forever’ era
A backdrop of trees and a dark dramatic theme introduced “Tis the Demon Season”, another live debut.
In a wild-hued flowered frock and forest green cape, Swift sank into a cloud of dry ice to the ethereal “Willow” before crossing the catwalk and being populated by the spirit of Stevie Nicks.
But the highlight from the duo’s second of the folk-neglected album Swift, released during the pandemic, came with “Champagne Problems,” which she performed while sitting at a moss-covered piano. As the emotion in the song escalated, the fervent crowd screamed along with every word, sharing in its gleeful venom.
era of prestige
From the first glimpse of a snake on the video screen, it was clear that Swift would next delve into her polarizing release in 2017 and she was equipped with the perfect outfit – a fierce one-legged black and red bodysuit.
These songs have always been embedded with attitude, and Swift and her entourage performed “Ready for It?” Rays of light surround Swift as she performs anything-but-delicate during a pop-metal crunch and a bevy of outfits from her entire career—worn by her dancers—paired with an electro-goth romp goes, “Look What You Made Me Do”.
‘red’ era
The stage was appropriately colored crimson, as Swift tumbled through the carefree vibe of “22” and threw in some mischievous squeals against the thunder of “Trouble.”
But it was the longer version of “All’s Well,” which Swift said she was performing as a thank you to fans, who were captivated as the crowd took the words of the labyrinthine story-song to heart. was feeling from
the ‘folklore’ era
Swift sang seven songs from her Grammy-winning 2020 release, choosing her selections including “Invisible String” and “My Tears Ricochet” with great simplicity to match her elegantly flowing purple dress.
While her voice smoothly went from gentle to strong throughout the show, Swift’s voice soared with her solo chorus on “Betty,” one of her best songs of the night.
‘1989’ era
Perhaps her most consistently perky album, Swift contains myriad gems named after her year of birth.
The gliding “Style” and the no less “Blank Space”, with its epic chorus, opened in the blink of an eye and the dancers at De Glo Golf Clubs did their best in a car (on video).
Thoughtful characterizations from “Folklore” followed by listening to the giddy “Shake It Off” served as an after-dinner sundae.
‘Midnight’ Era
Swift followed an acoustic segment — which she said she expected to change each show — with an aquatic-themed segue that included “Lavender Haze” (and yes, she wore a lavender outfit). Launched with attractive sentiments.
Her recent smash, “Anti-Hero,” positioned itself as yet another addition to her canon that would be heard on tours for years to come, while Swift and her dancers performed a slinky rendition of Bob Fosse’s “Chicago.” paid tribute with the chair routine “Vigilante Es—“.
At the end of the show, as confetti rained down on the stage, Swift took her curtain call with her entire performance team before taking a solo victory lap to express her gratitude to her fans once more.
Starting the evening off briskly at 6:30 was Gayle, who delivered a taut set of melodic rockers including the Grammy-nominated “ABCDfu” and a solid cover of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.”
Paramore’s pop-punk-rock stylings kicked off just before 7 p.m., with frontwoman Hayley Williams, wearing red ankle boots and constantly swaying her hips, jumping around the stage and performing her nine-song, 40-minute performance. Used to catwalk during the set.
Singalongs were rampant during “That’s What You Get,” “Misery Business” and set closer “Ain’t It Fun,” while the band also broke down swinging ballads—not Williams’ favorite, she admitted—”the The only exception.”
A Smorgasbord of Swift
