The Eras Tour, in which Swift is playing songs from each of her albums (or eras), is a cultural phenomenon, and its impact is felt not just in its trail of green — the Common Sense Institute estimated the tour would contribute $140 million to Colorado's GDP — but in the horde of impassioned fans,who descended on Empower Field this weekend with friendship bracelets and glitter...lots of glitter.
Those fans, of course, are the Swifties. For Saturday's show, Katrina Leibee, Westword social media editor and ultimate Swiftie, helped me navigate the culture, almost the way a guide would help you through the Himalayas or on safari. Because while I hadn't listened to a Taylor Swift song voluntarily since seventh grade, and my favorite live shows are in the heavier forms of Tool or Primus or Widespread Panic, curiosity prevails when it comes to one of the most historic tours of the century.
There's also nothing more fun than watching people's faces light up when they see their favorite musician live. Even a cynic can see that the hype is justified. With three hours and 45 minutes of performance (and several more minutes taken up by storytelling and the crowd screaming), dynamic dances, grandiose changing set designs, and a whopping 45 songs, Swift displays the stamina, charisma and sheer talent that have propelled her career since she was twelve years old.
Here are five takeaways from Taylor Swift's July 15 Eras Tour performance at Empower Field:
Fans seeking shade under the Colfax viaduct while they wait to get into the venue.
Evan Semón Photography
Sometimes the sheer volume of stadium concerts can guarantee a few bad apples, but it was all smiles and happiness at Saturday's concert. No one was really getting drunk, probably because everyone wanted to remember each moment. And this was the first show where I've never seen anyone stopped by security — even the police officers outside the stadium were sporting friendship bracelets, handmade tokens from Swifties similar to a raver's "candy" bracelets.
The outfits, of course, were next-level, with Swifties carefully curating their looks to specific albums and scenes from music videos. It might as well have been a Taylor Swift cosplay convention: puffy pink dresses, lavender slips, skintight leather and fishnets, cowgirl boots and sequins and glitter galore, and hair accessories of butterflies and crystals. Mothers and daughters matched their outfits, and little girls wore princess dresses while their supportive fathers wore "Swiftie Dad" shirts. There were a couple of men wearing shirts that read "I'm the Husband, It's Me."
But that said, there weren't many men at the concert, which was refreshing and added to the overall atmosphere. Swift is known for her female-focused music, and even admitted during the show that she likes to write songs "woman-splaining to men how to apologize." Good for her.
Openers Gracie Abrams and MUNA Showed Their Swift Love
Both opening acts displayed their own Taylor Swift fandom. Singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams, who dazzled the crowd with her hypnotic vocals as the first act, called Swift her favorite musician and songwriter. "Thank you, Taylor," she said, "for being the artist of our lifetime."
The artists of MUNA, which had its last show as an opener that night, also praised the pop star for giving a platform to the queer indie-pop trio. Halfway through Swift's set, we spotted Abrams with MUNA artists on the floor, dancing and belting out each and every lyric.
Swift Surprised Fans With "Starlight" and "Back to December"
While her Eras Tour concerts always adhere to the same structure, during her acoustic set, Swift plays songs that she hasn't played in a long time. On this night, Swift took up her acoustic guitar and announced that she would be playing "Starlight," and the stadium immediately started shaking as fans started stomping their feet (this is the Swifties' Super Bowl, after all) and speaking in tongues — or so it sounded. The girl next to me — dressed in green for Folklore, she informed me — said that she would cry the whole way through.
It was the same scenario when Swift announced "Back to December." The stomping began again, along with the wave of screams, cheers and crying. Lots of crying. Bracelets that fans had received upon entering the concert lit up in purple, and the lights swayed back and forth as the audience sang every word. (Find the entire set list here.) She Has a Chokehold on Her Fans
Even the greatest skeptic, or someone entirely unaware of Swift's music, recognizes the power that this pop star has over her fans. Lately, it's been trendy for cynics to label this a "parasocial relationship," which is just a bizarre way of saying she enjoys how her fans love her — applying therapy-speak to the sort of fan culture that's surrounded musicians and bands since Elvis or the Beatles. These are also the same type of people who enjoy telling children Santa Claus isn't real.
It's easy to see that fans get a lot out of their relationship to Swift's music, given the pure elevated levels of joy that permeated the air at Empower Field. With memories associated with two decades of Swift's relatable material, Swifties have been indelibly affected by the music. And Swift recognizes that she would be nowhere without her fans.
Swift definitely appears to enjoy her fans' proclamations of love, and repeatedly tells them she loves them back. "Don't make my head big!" she laughed, when simply looking at a section of the crowd made them break out into shrieks. At one moment, she sat at her piano and soaked it up, just sitting silently, smiling and gazing at the audience as the fans cheered...for 47 seconds straight. Each time her lips twitched into a slightly bigger smile, the cheers would intensify. The only time the audience was silent was when Swift spoke and its members gave her the rapt attention of disciples.
Thankfully, the sound at the stadium was good enough that you could still hear the singer over her fans, who sang along to each and every song.
Swift is joined by her dance team for "The Man," her third song of the night.
Evan Semón Photography
As we left the concert and headed to the RTD light-rail station, Denver band Brothers of Brass took advantage of the prime busking situation and mounted its own post-show act under the bridge, blaring songs such as "Shake It Off." Fans sang the lyrics, danced and traded friendship bracelets for one last time outside the stadium.
And they uttered the same sentence over and over: "This was the best night of my life."
