I had the opportunity to attend the Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour at Gillette Stadium (night 2). Going into the tour, I had high expectations, having seen many posts online talking about how incredible the show was, and I must say, Taylor did not disappoint.
The tour excitement started upon entering the stadium, with employees passing out the infamous wristbands, which had made a reappearance after their debut on the 1989 World Tour. After putting on my wristband, and taking a series of pictures with my long time Taylor Concert buddy, Allie, we went off to find out seats.
Having arrived around 7:00, Charli XCX was just taking the stage when we found our seats. She played a series of songs, both hers and covers, to help get the crowd ready for the show, and while I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it, as I don’t usually enjoy opening acts, Charli XCX did a great job getting the crowd ready for Camila Cabello, who took the stage next. Though Allie and I were wandering the stadium during some of the opening performances, it didn’t stop us from stopping and dancing to the music.
While walking around, we stumbled upon a photobooth, where you could take a picture on the LWYMMD throne, which is one of my favorite pictures from that night. While we had to wait in line for a while, it was pretty cool to be able to take a photo on the throne (even if it wasn’t the actual throne from the video). Definitely a perfect photo op for someone who loves Taylor as much as I do. After taking our photo on the throne, we went back to our seats and danced to the end of Camila’s set before she and Charli left the stage.
There was some time in between the beginning of Taylor’s set and when the opening acts ended, and after waiting for a few minutes, I turned to Allie and said, “I expect all the lights to go off any minute.” As if on cue, everything–and I mean everything, the stadium lights, the main stage, and the b-stages-all went pitch black. After a few seconds, music started picking up, and the stage parted, revealing Taylor entering down the center. Clearing her throat, the singer began the first song of the Reputation album, “…Ready For It?”. And while I might not need to say this, as I’m sure you can guess, I was most certainly NOT ready for it.
After dazzling the crowd with her opening number, Taylor immediately launched into a performance of “I Did Something Bad.” Nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever giving me more life than hearing Taylor Swift sing “If a man talks sh*t than I owe him nothing,” live. I mean, I think we all transcended into another realm in that moment. After IDSB, we got to hear “Gorgeous,” which of course, in typical Taylor fashion, was preceded by a speech. I have to say, “Gorgeous” is not my FAVORITE song on Rep, but this performance really was gorgeous. She also paused mid-song to introduce all her dancers, which I thought was the sweetest thing! Additionally, her stage was adorned with little pictures of Meredith and Olivia while she sang “Guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats…alone,” so that was priceless. After “Gorgeous,” Taylor wowed the crowd with a mashup of three of her biggest hits, spanning multiple eras. Swift combined “Style,” “Love Story,” and “You Belong with Me,” and when I tell you that there is nothing I love more in this world than Taylor Swift mashups, I mean it. While it was great, I still can’t say it topped the “Wildest Dreams”/”Enchanted” mashup from the 1989 World Tour. That’s pretty much my favorite of all time, however, so it would be incredibly hard to top.
An Aside: Taylor is an expert at costume changes, so the fact that this concert had so many, and I still could not find one place where she disappeared for more than a few seconds was impressive. After a costume change, Taylor took the stage for “Look What You Made Me Do,” complete with her very own tilted stage. In addition, three giant inflatable snakes (one on each stage) Rose from the floor, and I must say, it was impressive. After rocking out to LWYMMD, Taylor launched into “End Game” (a shortened version of just her part, because alas, Ed and Future weren’t there). After “End Game,” Taylor sang “King of My Heart,” the performance of which really is the king of my heart.
After another stealthy costume change, Taylor gave a speech about how much she loved playing at Gillette stadium, and how it was the first stadium that she ever played (Cue me: Tearing up in the stands because my stadium is one of her favorite places to play). She then proceeded to sing one of the greatest songs of all time: “Delicate.” As we all know, Taylor uses Delicate to float in a sparkly lift over the crowd, making her way to the first B-stage (right in front of my seats). Pulling Charli XCX and Camila Cabello on stage, the trio performed “Shake It Off,” and while we were all shaking it off, yup you guessed it, there was another costume change. In which Taylor left the stage, shot back to behind the main stage, changed, and shoot back to the B-stage under the ground on a rocket sled. Yeah, she’s that good at costume changes. Taylor came back out to the B-stage and took her guitar from a crew member, where she played an acoustic version of “Dancing With Our Hands Tied.” After that, we all knew what time it was: B-stage surprise song time.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t get any of the songs I was hoping for (R.I.P. to my dreams), but what I did get, was a life changing performance of a song that I’ve known for a very long time: “Change.” For the rest of my life, I get to say that I got to sing “Hallelujah” with Taylor Swift (and 60,000+ other people).
After the surprise song, Taylor made her way through the barricade, trying to meet as many fans as possible as she made her way over to the second B stage. When she got there, Taylor proceeded to sing “Blank Space” before another costume change for her performance of “Dress”—a song I was certain wasn’t going to make the setlist, but was wholeheartedly surprised when it did. Taylor then climbed into the ribcage of a snake (iconic) and floated back to the main stage while performing another mashup, this time of “Bad Blood” and “Should’ve Said No”—another song I never thought I’d have the opportunity to hear live, complete with dancers suspended above the stage.
After the mashup, Taylor knowingly murdered the whole crowd with her performance of “Don’t Blame Me”—my favorite song from Rep—and this was the point in the concert I knew I would probably never recover. Honestly, I keep rewatching the videos I took during the tour (you can’t see anything because I was shaking and screaming lyrics–it’s mostly just blurry shots of the crowd and sky, oops). After hearing my favorite song live, Taylor took her spot in the center of the stage at her piano, and proceeded to play YET ANOTHER mashup, this time including “Long Live” and “New Year’s Day,” and I have to say, this mashup almost topped the “Wildest Dreams”/”Enchanted” mashup that owns my soul.
After killing everyone in the stadium, Taylor played a video (for another costume change) and when she came back, played “Getaway Car” before moving right into “Call It What You Want.” To wrap up the night, Taylor blessed us with ANOTHER MASHUP–that’s right Ladies, Gents, and Nonbinary friends–we got 4 mashups this era. Her finale piece included “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” and I must say, I am forever thankful that Taylor stomping around in a fountain was the way we ended this tour–complete with fireworks.
When it ended, I was in disbelief, I was actually upset that it was over. While I have been to a few of Taylor’s concerts in the past, I think that I can honestly say that the Reputation Stadium Tour was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen, and it tops my list of life experiences with ease. Taylor never fails to put on a great show, however the Reputation Stadium Tour was somehow even more than that, almost otherworldly. It was a gorgeous display of what makes Taylor so talented, and not only did she perform incredibly, she made sure to connect with each and every person who was there. It was truly a night I will never forget, and Taylor, if by some one-in-a-billion shot you might actually see this, let me be one of many to say that “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.”
If you still have to opportunity to check out Taylor’s Reputation Stadium Tour, I highly recommend splurging a little on the experience. Catch the remaining legs of the tour in the following stadiums:
9/29-NRG Stadium in Houston, TX
10/5 and 10/6-AT&T Stadium in Arlington TX
10/19-Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia
10/26-Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia
11/2-ANZ Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park, Australia
11/6-The Gabba in Brisbane, Australia
11/9-Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand
11/20 and 11/21-Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan