SO. It’s been a long time. I have been kicked out of university, been volunteering a lot and done lots of cool things in that area, have some interesting research opportunities coem up, and reapplied to uni, and been in a general hospital for just under two months. But what am I blogging about? Taylor Swift’s Eras Concert, which I was discharged just in time to see (I also crammed a trip to see the new Barbie exhibition at the Design Museum in, and that was also awesome)!!
Where do I begin? I’ve been looking forward to this concert for months and months and months, and had been panicking and panicking about being able to actually go. Still – just in case – I had planned my outfit with one of my closest friends (we decided to go all sequined up, with matching glittery guitar earrings) and had made some Swiftie friendship bracelets. When it looked likely I’d actually be able to go, I splurged a little and got my nails done all fancy for the first time, to match my sequined pink-purple dress, sequined trainers, and sequin hoodie (all secondhand Vinted or eBay finds!!). On the day I also decided to actually put on a bit of make up, and was organised with a few accessibility arrangements made (being able to bring a bag with food and drink in – thank you Wembley for making the process really simple!).
Now, the actual event! We queued up at the merchandise stand (to be honest, I’d asked fr a cheap Eras lookalike tour t shirt online, for Christmas, however there was a reasonably priced exclusively in-person tapestry/cotton tea towel, which I decided to be extravagant and purchase!) and managed to get to the concert for the start of the second opening act, Paramore! I’d forgotten how HUGE Wembley is, but was pleased that everyone on the pitch was really friendly, respectful, and chatty. No one was pushing or trying to cram themselves in. I got talking to Swifties all over the UK, and some who had travelled from New York (it was their third show), and Japan!
Paramore were great, and I think held their own considering how big Taylor Swift is to precede! I really enjoyed their set, but very soon we were onto ‘the queen’ herself (I was shocked at how soon she came on – it was 6.45ish, and it felt like not time had passed at all). She burst on stage with ‘Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince’, in her incredible Lover outfit, and almost instantly I was in dance mode. Lover is my favourite album, and some particular highlights from this set with her performance of The Man and of Cruel Summer. The whole crowd went crazy! I also loved how the light up bands you were given lit up in coordinated colours (they seemed to somehow know where you were seated?)!
THEN, THEN IT WAS FEARLESS. Now this HAS to be one of my most memorable moments from the whole tour, because it comprised the BANGERS that are Fearless, You Belong With Me, and Love Story. Nothing can stop you screaming out your lungs to the classics – AND, I kid you not, my friend and I were directly behind, and caught on camera, a proposal to the lines ‘marry me Juliet!!!’. IT WAS MAGICAL.
She then played through Red (22 and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together are two songs I have never appreciated enough!!!), Enchanged from Speak Now (I did wish for more from this album!) and Reputation (she stunned in her dramatic black and red catsuit, and there was some amazing choreography for these songs in particular), before moving onto the Folklore/Evermore eras. There were some gorgeous, emotional moments here, and a lot of swaying. The whole crowd for some reason stopped Taylor mid concert for a huge length of ear-deafening applause after Champagne problems, which apparently has become a tradition of the tour!
(I was becoming a little desperate for the toilet at this point, because – believe it or not – Taylor does not stop for any kind of break during the whole 3.5 hour show!!! I planned to go during the TTPD set, as this was the longest one).
After 1989 (much like Red, this was full of jumpy, dancey fan favourites, and I loved the green and pink outfit she’d chosen for this night; that’s one of the most exciting things about this tour, all the little ‘suprise’ elements that differ from night to night and keep you ‘in suspense’!), we had her newest album, TTPD (this is another of my top albums), which she of course very powerfully delivered, and then it was time for what I think for fans provides the biggest thrill and talking point…the surprise songs!
(Context: each show features two surprise songs – one played acoustic guitar, and one acoustic piano. Both are mash ups!).
This took me completely aback, but ‘my’ first song was not only a THREE song mash up, BUT FEATURED A SURPRISE GUEST: ED SHEERAN!! I genuinely could not believe it, and the whole audience were screaming away! Together they sang Everything Has Changed x End Game x Thinking Out Loud, and it was really beautiful. Ed left for the second song, a combination of King of My Heart and the Alchemy. I particuarly loved this mash up, and was very pleased!!
Finally, Midnights ended the show. Seven songs from her tenth album, in another daring outfit. I hate to mention the appearance of celebrities, but her personal physical transformation from someone very slight to someone with curves and a new sense of confidence and joy is very inspiring to me. Along with her humour, wit, creativity and, what seems to me to be very genuine, generosity, it’s part of what makes me such a big fan.
Overall, this will go down as one of the most memorable nights of my life, and certainly is my most memorable music concert to date (not including Eurovision). I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to go to an Eras concert, and look very much forward to reliving it with a Disney+ watch.
My reflection: I was shocked by how weak I am. I went into hospital with a BMI of 8, and came out with a BMI of 10.5. I am still incredibly weak, and I need to remember that. I am proud to be discharged and to be rid of a lot of my rules – no morning walks, no counting of the stairs whatsoever…but I am not better. I am not close to that. I don’t regret going to the tour, but I was very cold, and very tired, by the end, and I want more than anything to in the future go to another Taylor concert, and be able to dance, jump, and make the most of it.
I was also inspired by Taylor, as I’ve briefly mentioned, and long to go throug the same transformation in myself.
And, finally, I was saddened but also kind of enchanted by the proposal I saw. A lot of things in my life have been delayed because of my health, and I’ve lost chances I wish, wish, wish I hadn’t, but I still dream of my future family, and I hope if I turn things round soon, I can still have that, even if it’s not with the people I thought it would be with. And maybe my future husband will also propose to me with a Taylor song?
I say this a lot, but I will push myself to properly recover now. I can’t let this hospital admission be just another admission and be put to no use. It has been a very different experience, taught me a lot, and I need to use the lessons learnt to make this attempt different to previous.
