The Taylor Trilogy Part 2: The Afterglow.
It’s been a long time coming but… part two of the Pulltab Sports Taylor Trilogy has hit the center stage. We talked to Swifties of all eras in this oral history about the Eras Tour that rocked Minnesota on back to back nights.
After the great Ticketmaster war, months of waiting, hours of outfit planning and friendship bracelet making, the days have come where Miss Americana, Taylor Swift, has come to Minnesota with the Eras Tour.
And, no. This isn’t your typical tour. From ten albums to choose from, Swift somehow narrowed it down to 44 songs, covering top hits and deep cuts. From our favorite childhood album Fearless to the brand new international hit Midnight, Swift showcases her iconic eras like never before.
But, 44 songs isn’t something to be taken lightly. Over three hours of performing with no breaks, filled with constant singing, acting, dancing, and running across a stage the length of a football field. She really is a superstar. I bet she could have ran Grandma’s Marathon this year without even breaking a sweat. Seriously, the girl has got some stamina.
Maybe we should all collectively stop calling it a concert and call it what it really is: an Olympic sport.
Not only is the Eras Tour an unbelievable spectacle of physical endurance, but the emotional aspect is equally impressive. Swift is taking us through autobiographical songs of her life. Reliving moments of ecstasy with songs like 22 and Karma. Then, reliving moments of deep emotionality that made everyone's tears ricochet with songs like Champagne Problems and Marjorie about her late grandmother.
The tour is not low on coverage and reviews, that's for sure. Critics and Tiktokers have said their piece about the immaculate spectacle that is the Eras Tour, but now it's time we hear from the Minnesota Swifties if the Minneapolis dates reached beyond their wildest dreams and expectations.
Anna (29): Days leading up to the concert, anytime I heard a Taylor Swift song, thought about the concert or was asked about it I couldn’t help but get tears in my eyes over the excitement. The entire day leading up to the show was filled with adrenaline.
Molly (21): I was trying my best to stay calm all week so that I could get through my work week, but I woke up on Friday morning and was nearly jumping and skipping everywhere I went.
Grace (23): The day of, I listened to only Taylor Swift. At home, in the car and before the concert.
Lexi (21): I made a couple of friendship bracelets the night before the concert with my friend. As we got ready and started to drive, I started to get more and more excited!
Colette (15): I was in a rush to get ready and I am ashamed to admit that I did show up to the Eras tour with 3 grown out acrylic nails still left on my hands despite my plans to rip them off and quickly paint my nails the album colors the same way Taylor has her nails painted. It's fine, though. I don't think Taylor noticed.
Linda (22): I unfortunately had a major wardrobe malfunction that caused stress, sweat, and almost tears, which was less than ideal. But absolutely nothing was going to ruin the anticipation and excitement I was feeling.
Lauren (33): Excited and energetic is how I would describe the feelings before the concert. I jammed out to her songs the whole 2.5 hour drive.
Lillian (20): I got ready pretty quick and easy but the most chaotic part of getting ready for the concert was my sister. We had been swimming the night before and her hair turned green from the chlorine and she cried like I’ve never seen someone cry before. Drool was pouring out of her mouth and her speech was wildly incoherent. I told her it’s fine and you can barely tell. I asked why it matters so much that her hair was green and she made a whole dramatic speech about how it’s the tour of the decade and she can’t have green hair at it. I helped her get it out. I laughed, I’m not gonna lie.
Zach (21): Before the concert was pure and utter excitement.
Linda: I could have literally jumped out of a plane without a parachute, then ran a marathon even though I hate long distance running, then swam with sharks off the coast of Australia after swimming there without a life jacket, then hand squeezed 513 lemons for a large pitcher of lemonade with the excitement I felt for the concert. No joke.
Teresa (51): Everyone in the crowd was dressed up in Taylor attire. I loved the pre-concert people watching.
Molly: Arriving at the stadium was so fun! I could see other concert goers walking on the streets in the cutest outfits, and I was able to trade bracelets outside of the stadium while waiting in line which made the experience of the concert so much more personal and fun for me.
Annabelle (17): Everyone was so nice and I loved seeing all of the creative outfits. I was so excited to trade bracelets with people outside the stadium.
Annabelle: Also, outside of the stadium, my plan was to get some merch but they were sold out of my size. I ended up going to a merch stand inside before the show and got a beige t-shirt.
Anna: I ordered my merch beforehand to eliminate stress.
Molly: I did not get merchandise at the concert, I figured that the lines would be long and I did not want to miss any of the opening acts or Taylor. I made a plan to purchase Eras Tour merch online.
Linda: I didn’t buy any merch. I have regrets.
Lauren: I had no plan. I was hoping for the blue crewneck, of course. I just went after the concert. There was no line and I asked if they had any left, and they did!
Zach: We were really trying to get the exclusive crewneck sweatshirt but, alas, they were all sold out. Everyone in my group got some sort of sweater or sweatshirt. I also got a poster, the tapestry and the cd with the “you’re losing me” track on it. The plan was merch first, seats second.
Zach: I kept walking way too fast for the rest of my group to find the line for the floor seats because I was so excited. Then when I first got to our seats, it was so surreal to be down on the floor of this stadium. It was unreal.
Tom (44): When I first got to my seat, I felt excitement and anticipation, followed by slight nervousness as I had to explain to the 3 college girls sitting next to me that I was there by myself as a 44 year old man and that I was not a threat to their safety.
Lexi: It was quite a trek to get to our seats because we were in the nosebleeds. I think I definitely got my cardio in.
Grace: I didn’t know where my seats were until the day before. I was in the lower bowl and I couldn’t believe it. The view was amazing and I could see everything. I was honestly shocked and felt so lucky.
Anna: I don’t think butterflies left my stomach once the whole day. When I got to my seats I couldn’t believe how close I was going to be to her. We were 10 rows away!
Molly: I walked up the steps to get to my seat, turned around, and absolutely gasped and sobbed at the same time. My seats were right at the “T” at the end of the stage where Taylor sings her two surprise songs each night. I then proceed to cry and look around amazed for like the next hour.
Colette: It is pretty jarring to arrive at the stadium and just see the tens of thousands of people who are equally obsessed with Taylor as you are and all also know all of the random, obscure details about her life. I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I was finally surrounded with so many people who all had that same exact passion as I did.
Colette: The excitement didn't really set in until I made it to our seats.
Lexi: The countdown clock at the beginning made the anticipation so much worse.
Annabelle: My friend and I actually almost missed the start because we were halfway across the stadium getting Maui Wowi smoothies and had to run to our seats.
Lillian: Everyone stood up and you could feel the excitement build as the clock counted down. Then, when the clock hit zero, a slow mashup played as her dancers walked on stage.
Tom: The mash up song covering hits from all her albums that she came out to was amazing. I hadn't been to a big time stadium show in many years and forgot how much I love the walk out for the opening song.
Zach: I’ve seen bits of the concert online but I still went so hard when the first song came on. From the sound of the stadium, I was far from the only one absolutely freaking out with excitement. It was pure chaos and just screaming from everyone.
Lauren: When Taylor first came on stage, all I could think was that she is literally perfect.
Colette: I'm actually surprised to say that I sobbed. I was not expecting to cry just because I'm such a new Swiftie and don't really have that personal history with her yet that so many people do. Despite that, I found myself in tears as the opening sequence started leading into Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.
Grace: She’s been my favorite artist since I was 6 and I hadn’t seen her live since the Speak Now tour. I cried.
Anna: Pure joy. I couldn’t stop crying for at least the first 3 songs. It has been since 2018 since I saw her last at her Reputation tour.
Molly: I have never seen a Taylor concert before, so I was so overwhelmingly excited to see the person that has been the soundtrack to my whole life standing in front of me. She hasn’t ever really seemed real to me until that moment.
Lillian: Her stage presence is fantastic, the way she can control a crowd is unlike anyone else. What an opening number!
Tom: I can't recall seeing that many happy people all at the same time. Everyone was excited and I think literally every person enjoyed the experience.
Zach: I have never in my life heard a crowd be so loud, so often. At one point, not during a song, the crowd was so loud I couldn’t hear anything besides a constant blaring sound that filled my ears. The high intense energy of the crowd continued through every single era which was even more unreal.
Grace: The energy was insane! Taylor stopped after champagne problems and took her sound things out of her ears just to take in the screaming. She seemed to really have fun and to genuinely connect with the crowd.
Annabelle: The energy was absolutely amazing, no matter what song or era she was playing.
Anna: Each era made you feel a different way and felt like you saw 10 concerts in one.
Molly: As much as I loved to see Taylor’s most recent albums, I think my favorite era to see at the concert was Fearless! It’s definitely the most nostalgic era for me and she perfectly embodied who she was during the time of her life with the signature fearless spins and heart to the crowd.
Lillian: Evermore was definitely my favorite era to see. It’s one of my favorite albums and she played ‘tis the damn season! Evermore was so special and well done.
Zach: Folklore and evermore hold a really special place in my heart and to hear them live was so personal for me and really quite magical.
Grace: Evermore felt very artistically done and like a lot was put into it. From the willow capes, to the sunset during Marjorie, to the dinner table for tolerate it, and champagne problems energy. It was just beautiful. I also enjoyed her little spoken word moments before Evermore and Folklore.
Lexi: I loved when she performed tolerate it from Evermore because it was like a live music video. But my favorite era performance was between Reputation and Lover because those are my two favorites and I think the performances with both were amazing.
Anna: My favorite era was Reputation. The energy she and the dancers brought was so powerful! Truly a force of nature.
Tom: Reputation was simply bad ass. Loved them all for different reasons, but this one brought the highest energy rush for me.
Linda: Reputation for sure. Bad bitch energy all around and I loved it.
Annabelle: My favorite era to see performed was Reputation because of the really high energy performances. I thought the production was also super cool with all of the lights. I was most excited for the transition between Don’t Blame Me and Look What You Made Me Do and it definitely lived up to my expectations.
Lillian: Reputation surprised me as one that I enjoyed a lot. I love that album, but I wasn’t expecting the set to be as fantastic as it was. It really stood out to me.
Zach: Reputation was also a standout era for me. I didn’t think I would be as excited for that era since I saw the Reputation Stadium concert previously, but I was wrong. I had even more fun belting those songs.
Colette: I absolutely love Taylor's slower and more Indie-Folk songs to my core, but I will admit that they are not as fun to sing and dance along with in a large stadium. Those are the songs I blast in my headphones. Reputation songs are the ones that give my life when they are blasted on speakers. Literally every single song in that set list or just album in general is an absolute bop. 1989 and Red were just so much fun. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) was pretty special as well. My favorite era performed was definitely Reputation, but 1989 and Red are close runners up.
Teresa: 1989 was my favorite. I love every single one of those songs.
Lauren: Trying to pick your favorite era performance is like trying to pick a favorite child. You can’t. I loved them all.
Molly: I love how Taylor, the dancers, and the band blend each era into the next; the transitions were all so flawless and helped get the crowd excited for what was coming next!
Lexi: It was indescribable. The whole thing flowed so great and she really did make it a performance. And of course the energy when she unveiled the surprise songs was unmatched.
Zach: We got Dear John as the first surprise song on night 2, which I didn’t know she hadn’t played yet, so I was so blindsided in the best way. The crowd was somehow even louder when she announced what song it was, which surprised me because I didn’t know the cheering could get any louder.
Annabelle: I screamed so loud when she announced Dear John and then started crying. It was by far the song I had hoped for the most. Daylight was also a top pick of mine, so it’s safe to say I feel that my life is complete.
Colette: Dear John is just such a heartbreaking song, and the words impact me so much as I'm in my teenage years and understanding my self worth. It is also pretty crazy that that is the first time she has sung that song in like 11 years. Daylight was super special as well. Minneapolis definitely won with that surprise song combo on Night 2.
Linda: Minneapolis Night 2 surprise songs made me want to rip my hair out because I would have loved to hear them live, but my surprise songs on Night 1 were beautiful as well. Taylor Swift doesn’t disappoint.
Molly: I was so excited to hear Paper Rings live. The crowd was dancing and singing along to every word which was so fun to be a part of. The second surprise song on Friday, If This Was A Movie, was definitely a big mood change from Paper Rings, but one of my favorites and it sounded so beautiful on piano.
Molly: Night two surprise songs were absolutely nuts. I would have never ever guessed she’d play Dear John. It was really fun to hear her talk about her re-recording process as well as her reasoning for playing Dear John that night (13 days from the rerelease of Speak Now).
Lillian: I think night two was better just because of the surprise songs.
Colette: Yes, I may be biased, but I think night 2 was better. I mean we got Dear fricking John and Daylight, so there's that.
Grace: My friend that I went with went to both and said night two was better.
Molly: Night one will be something that I will remember forever, I was there with my mom which made it even more special. However, the energy of night two and the surprise songs were absolutely unmatched. Taylor seemed to be feeding off of the crowd's excitement all night as well. Taylor talked to the crowd a lot both nights but it did feel a little bit more engaged and personal on Saturday night.
Tom: I don't think there is a right answer for the question of which night is better.
Linda: Taylor Swift makes for an amazing night, any night.
Anna: The concert was like the best 3 hour Super Bowl halftime performance there has ever been. The best show I’ve ever seen in my life.
Colette: I was just most surprised with Taylor's consistency and stamina throughout the entire thing. I know that I've seen hundreds of clips of her online and I pretty much knew what to expect throughout the entire thing, but she was able to remain so shocking and professional throughout the entire 3 hours. I mean, I was dying just standing there, and I can't even imagine how she was able to perform full out and do so many costume changes without looking the slightest bit winded. She's just so incredible.
Grace: Honestly, for a stadium show I was expecting it to be overhyped but it was a truly incredible experience.
Tom: The whole thing, the show, sound, and venue was super well organized. A TON of positive energy and positivity throughout the entire place, but it wasn't an anxious feeling and it felt very comfortable the entire time. I honestly can't think of one thing that was negative about the entire experience.
Teresa: Amazing. It was extra special to share the experience with my daughters, our 5th Taylor concert together.
Zach: When I first bought the tickets they were the most money I had spent on concert tickets. However, after going to that concert, if I had known how beyond my expectations that experience would be; I wouldn’t have given the price a second thought. That concert was worth every single penny and more.
Lauren: I would go over and over again if I could.
Molly: This was one of the best weekends of my life. Taylor Swift is THE one. I’ve never been to a concert with such high production that also feels so intimate and personal.
Annabelle: I think that the Eras Tour is definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so grateful that I got to go and see her live.
Colette: I don't think I will ever experience another concert like that ever again.
Tom: Taylor Swift's success as a musician doesn't come around very often - maybe once or twice in the typical lifetime of being a music fan. That truly is a special experience.
Long story short, the Swifties survived the Eras Tour and lived to tell the tale. But they have more to tell. Part three of the Taylor Trilogy is just around the corner as we check back with Swifties days after the tour to see if they are still lingering in the excitement that was the Minneapolis leg of the Eras Tour.
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