Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour @ SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Review and images by Heather Hawke.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour isn’t only a wondrous phenomenon, it’s also a culture movement.
Driving up to SoFi Stadium on August 5th there were hordes of people wearing all sorts of jackets, dresses, pants, skirts, and yes, even tutus, that were decked out in loads and loads of sequins and glitter. And lots and lots of pink. If you weren’t privy as to the reason of this, one could presume people might be dressing up to celebrate the newly released Barbie movie, but in fact, they’d be thinking of the wrong global superstar. Instead, these outfits were delicately crafted to support the one and only Taylor Swift.
The amount of people that were bedazzled at the venue far outweighed the ones in “everyday” clothing, but they weren’t only wearing shades of pink like people would do as an ode to the hit movie, they were also wearing shades of purple (Speak Now); red (for the album that shares the namesake); yellow dresses and green capes (for Forkloreand Evermore); and sexy black outfits (for Reputation, of course). There were also various creative clothing pieces that featured snakes (also in ode to Reputation), plus lots of DIY’d T-shirts (Speak Now) and face accessories mostly in the shape of hearts (Lover).
Even as someone who wouldn’t consider themselves a part of this pop star’s core audience, there’s something to be said about what Swift has been able to do with the tour and how massive it is. Not only did people (70K for this one sold-out LA show alone) spent countless hours/days/weeks/months online to find ANY tickets to buy, but they also spend a pretty penny once they got ahold of said ticket(s). And, if that wasn’t enough, they also spent countless resources on their perfect thematic outfits to show their unwavering devotion for the star’s music.
But wait there’s more – I know, I’m starting to sound like an infomercial, trying to push a pyramid scheme beyond the limits of belief – the thing that I found the most striking (if only for the lack of technology needed to be involved in this trend) were the friendship bracelets, more specifically the “trading them with strangers” aspect of it. Yes, there are plenty of videos going around online about the bracelets, but people don’t have to be on socials to take part in it. In fact, you don’t even have to wait until you get to a show to trade the bracelets. Is this the start of an anti-social media fad?
Two of the only times the crowd seemed to veer from all-encompassing Swift mode that night was when the openers were on stage; alt-pop singer Gayle (whose brother was in the audience, who hadn’t seen her play live since age 13) and hometown hero’s HAIM, who truly brought the quintessential jaunty ethos of the Valley to the stadium that night. Moments before the clock countdown appeared on the stadium’s screens, which marked when Swift would take to the stage, the crowd also embraced full-on fervent sing-alongs to Paramore’s “Misery Business” and Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down Swinging” as they played on the overhead speakers.
As the clock timed out, Lesley Gore’s classic “You Don’t Own Me” signaled the arrival of Swift, who was elevated up from under the stage cloaked in waves of flowing sheets comparable to a Cirque de Soleil fashion parade. All at once whatever inhibitions normally kept people relatively composed vanished and the stadium lost their collective minds either melting into goop or letting out raucous screams, some unintentionally did both.
“Cruel Summer” wasn’t the first song in the setlist, that honor went to a shortened version of Lovers’ “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” but seeing 70,000 light up wrist bands (which were taped to every seat in the stadium upon entry) power on and turn your entire peripheral vision into a hypnotic neon purple, the song certainty felt like the true show kick off.
Personally, in all my years of going to shows, the artist I’ve seen with the biggest fanbase in correlation with it being their absolute PEAK of their popularity was likely NSYNC in 1999 (at the height of boy band/music fandemonium not seen since the Beatles era) and even then, they only performed at a 12K capacity venue, so its mind blowing to think just how underwhelming the difference is in numbers.
These six Los Angeles’ shows mark the final city in Swift’s U.S. Eras Tour… that is until next October when she’ll hit Miami, New Orleans, and Indianapolis for a string of shows.
Even spending this whole article talking about how passionate Swifties are, the pop star is also giving her fans A LOT. She’s giving her audience a career spanning 17-year set that extends a whopping three and a half hours at every single show. I’d say that’s a welcoming trade off.
