Taylor Swift excitement engulfed Liverpool last night, as the 100th gig of her Eras tour hit the red side of the city. The superstar kicked off the first of three shows at Anfield stadium and the air was crackling with excitement. The city is scattered with 11 art installations, part of a ‘Taylor Town Trail’, inspired by each of her 11 ‘Eras’ which are on show here until Monday. Nigel reports back with photos by TAS Rights Management.
Paramore put in a sterling job as support act, delivering a 45 minute set of power pop-rock, warming up the crowd nicely. Hayley Williams, in her Feminine Rage jacket thanks Taylor Swift for including her band on the tour. They’ve been going for 21 years and know how to stir up this baying crowd, many of whom appear to know all of the words.
After a short wait, two digital timers appear either side of a huge clock on the projected backdrop. The crowd shout out the numbers as they countdown towards zero, and the screaming is deafening. A black rectangle appears in the centre of the screen, which slowly rises, revealing a series of huge, veined butterfly wings which billow dramatically in the wind. After convening into the centre of the enormous extended stage, (with what Guy Garvey once coined a ‘vanity thrust’), Taylor Swift is revealed, sparkling in a pink and silver glitter leotard with matching boots. She bends almost double and twists, pointing around the crowd, which erupts into a deafening aural Mexican wave, which sweeps around the stadium, before bursting into Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince followed by Cruel Summer (an apt choice considering the weather!); and so starts a three and a half hour mega show, the likes of which, this hallowed turf has never witnessed before.
It’s been raining for most of the day, only stopping half-way through Paramore’s performance, but the Anfield gods are looking kindly on us this evening, and apart from a chill wind, halted slightly in its tracks by the bodies around us, the weather holds. I can’t say the same for Swift, who is buffeted as she struts, skips and hops along the runway.
She dons a warming jacket for The Man as the temperature drops further, and with a huge cast of dancers, climbs the office style platforms that have emerged from the back of the stage. Every song is its own vignette; part of a short selection taken from each of her 11 albums in sequence, referred to as the ‘Eras’ (or ‘errors’ as she pronounces it) of her career. Each is choreographed to perfection, with dancers swirling around the stage in a huge variety of glitzy costumes.
The extended ending of The Man sees the band wandering around after her like a troupe of minstrels, all smiles and spikey hair. It’s hard to pinpoint who is playing what – there are drums stage right with a guitarist in front and what looks like extra percussion stage left, but whatever the source, the sound is all enveloping, powerful and immersive and the detail is dwarfed by the pyrotechnics occurring on stage.
Grabbing a silver glitter guitar she dips and spins, knowing the effect this has on the crowd, and they oblige accordingly, with deafening whoops and screams. You Belong With Me sees whole sections of the extended stage raise up, with members of the band playing, with Taylor centre. This huge mechanical light up stage is a marvel in its own right, with rising and falling platforms, lights and projections of its own, bringing a whole new level of interactivity.
Taylor plays to every corner of the ground with deafening whoops from the ‘Swifties’ as she approaches them. People have bought flashing wrist bands on the way in which they wave in the air in unison, the flickering lights becoming more apparent as the skies darken.
What surprises me most about this gig is the sheer diversity of the audience. While there are mostly young girls enjoying the show, many have partners with them, couples hold hands, others are wrapped around each other. Groups of glitter faced teenagers sparkle in the reflected light, baring the chill wind in shimmering dresses, matched with ubiquitous cowboy boots and hats, oblivious to the cold. They form circles, shouting out the lyrics in competition with each other as to who can remember them the best without stumbling, eyes closed, in the moment. Something they’ll remember forever. Fathers with daughters, grown men in cowboy hats on their own, singing along. It’s truly remarkable.
There hasn’t been such a coordinated spectacle like this since the London Olympics opening ceremony, with every song featuring its own cast of dancers and backing singers, all moving in unison under swirls white confetti, ticker tape and dry ice.
The wristbands are reminiscent of an old Dr Who episode where people are controlled by glowing earpieces. They are all identical, reflecting the colours on stage. When Swift dons a white dress, the wristbands glow white. It’s a very clever addition to an already great show. These mega shows are notorious for the distance the audience sits from the performer creating a disconnect. These bands pull the Swifties together as one. It feels almost like a cult, but it’s the perfect way of enhancing the feeling of immersion and involvement, with the bands held high, the lights cleverly coordinated with the colours on the stage, swirling backwards and forwards around the stadium.
Taylor Swift tells us that tonight they broke the record for the most people attending a show at Anfield, and of course, this tour, from arguably the world’s most popular artist, is likely to be the biggest the world has ever seen (we’re at 100 shows and it finishes in December). It’s an impressive achievement and makes you appreciate the almost universal appeal of Taylor Swift. It’s so broad, she’s able to keep the whole show rolling, packing out venues around the world.
There are endless costume changes for everyone, not just Swift – one for each album and she keeps up the magic throughout – all the moves; the fan hands, the cheeky look over one shoulder. Everything is thought through, every move, every look, every effect – the stage even appears to ‘crack’ as she stamps her heel down. Every little detail is designed and implemented to perfection. In a touching moment during 22, wearing a ‘Who’s Taylor Swift Anyway’ T-shirt she bends down and gives her fedora away to a young girl in the crowd, in a moment that has become a something of a tradition during the Eras tour.
Look What You Made Me Do sees the dancers in white framed glass cages as Swift continues to pack all the moves in the book into her performance, bending double, arching her hands skyward and swirling around so that every part of the stadium can see her.
A wooden cottage emerges from the backdrop, opening the ‘Folklore’ section and Taylor is sitting on its grassy roof in a green dress with matching boots, red soles flashing. (Who knew that Louboutin made so many different styles?) She explains how her songs are mostly autobiographical, but this album allowed her to invent some characters, including Betty, which she launches into.
At the end of Champagne Problems she stops to soak up the atmosphere, with what must be the loudest screaming ever heard at a concert. It’s utterly deafening – she smiles, stoops down, looks left, right, and behind, not quite believing the sheer adoration emanating from the crowd. “this is one of the memories I am going to revisit any time I’m sad “ she says, looking truly overwhelmed, and It’s a good few minutes before the volume dies down enough for her to continue.
In a blue glitter top with pink skirt, matching boots and even a coordinated microphone, she sings Blank Spaces. The wrist bands coordinate in the same shade of blue.
The biggest sing-along of the night is reserved for Bad Blood, with huge flames bursting from the stage (helping warm us up!) It breaks into The Tortured Poets Department section which opens with a mash up of MBOBHFT, WAOLOM, loml, So Long, London and BDILM.
We’re a good two and a half hours and it’s impossible not to be in awe of the woman’s stamina. Running around this huge stage with an hour or so to go, she must have the fitness of an Olympic athlete, and she’s doing it again tomorrow, and the night after!
The stage creates its own sets depending on the song, with projectors flashing images on the side. There a Porsche in one scene being beaten to smithereens by neon sledgehammers, and it’s hard to see how the mirror box Taylor sits on seemingly glides over the stage.
She comes to the front, in a fuchsia dress holding yet another glitter guitar, then onto piano for Cornelia Street/Maroon, after which, she literally dives into the stage, with the screen graphics showing her ‘swimming’ to the back, before emerging onto a ladder climbing into a cloud.
Towards the end, and in coordinated celebration, the wristbands revolve through all of the night’s colours, as she closes with Mastermind, followed by Karma, with its huge extended outro!
All of the performers line up in multicoloured sparkling outfits for the final bow. Taylor takes a deep bow of her own before the lights go out for the final time.
What a gig! The last time I witnessed anything close was the Ariana Grande day, when she was raising money for the Manchester bomb victims. But this was another level of sophistication and performance. It’s easy to take pops at her music, but there was nothing at all negative about tonight’s show. Taylor Swift is a superstar, an inspiration and role model, and deserves every minute of her fame!
Words by Nigel Carr. More writing by Nigel on Louder Than War can be found in his Author’s archive. You can find Nigel on Twitter and Facebook
Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management
We have a small favour to ask. Subscribe to Louder Than War and help keep the flame of independent music burning. Click the button below to see the extras you get!
