Filtering by Tag: Live Music

Live Recap: Jesse McCartney at The Vic Theatre

May 08, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

Jesse McCartney fans in Chicago got to kick off their weekend with a sold-out, nostalgia-packed performance from the singer-songwriter at The Vic on Friday, May 3rd.

Following a set from support act Just Seconds Apart, the stage lights dimmed in preparation for the main act. McCartney’s band members took their places first and began to play introductory music while the stage lights flashed to welcome Jesse to the stage. Starting off with “Silver Spoon” from his latest “All’s Well” EP (which is also the namesake of the current tour), McCartney donned a dazzling black sequin suit. He began the show atop a platform, but Jesse quickly ran down the stairs of the platform to come closer to the front of the stage and serenade the fans at the barricade while singing a mix of familiar favorites, like “She’s No You” from his 2004 debut album and the title track “Right Where You Want Me” from his 2006 record, intertwined with some of his newer material. The first part of the set finished with “Tie The Knot,” which McCartney dedicated to all the married people in the audience.

The show then transitioned into an acoustic section, where Jesse and his guitar player took the opportunity to strip down some of his songs while they sat on the stairs of the stage’s platform. The acoustic segment included a cover of “More Than Words” by Extreme, and it wrapped up with a performance of “Just So You Know",” which McCartney introduced saying “In 2006, I wrote this song on a tour bus in London.”

The full band rejoined Jesse onstage after the stripped-back break in the set, and they went full-speed ahead with “Wasted,” which had the crowd dancing along. Before playing “Party For Two,” Jesse took a few minutes to address the crowd about what would happen next in the show. “I want to tell you guys about the song I wrote for my engagement. It’s a very special song that I only got to write once, but thankfully, I get to perform it for the rest of my life. I thought tonight, maybe I’d sing it for one of you guys,” he said. The house lights turned on to illuminate the crowd, and McCartney ended up selecting a lucky fan named Nancy to serenade for the performance.

After the serenade, Jesse left the stage for a quick outfit change, returning in a more casual outfit than his sparkling suit. He performed a couple of songs at the piano next, including the song “Bleeding Love” that he actually wrote, but was performed and popularized by Leona Lewis. “This is a song I wrote back in 2007. This is a song that almost didn’t get written. We were feeling lazy and decided to put one hour in at the studio to see where it went. This didn’t end up on my album, but thankfully it was pitched to a female artist. And I’m so so happy she recorded it because it would become the biggest song of my writing career,” he shared with the crowd.

The show concluded on a high energy note, with hit after hit like “Body Language,” “Leavin’” and “Beautiful Soul” all stacked towards the end of the set. Prior to performing the latter, the band had left the stage, only to be quickly summoned back for an encore with chants of “Jesse!”

If you get the chance to see Jesse McCartney on the All’s Well Tour, don’t miss out on the opportunity to experience some of your favorite songs from your teen years live. You can check out photos from the Chicago concert below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.

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categories / Reviews, Gigs, Music, Photos
tags / Jesse McCartney, Live Recap, Live Music, Photo recap, The Vic, Jam Productions, All's Well

Live Recap: The Kooks and Vaccines with Daisy the Great

March 20, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

The Kooks, The Vaccines and Daisy the Great all rocked a sold out house at The Riviera to kick off the St.Patty’s Day weekend in Chicago.

The musical duo of Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker, AKA Daisy the Great, warmed up the Chicago crowd with a set that showcased the pair’s beautiful vocal harmonies along with their spunky energy. Daisy the Great performed the first song they ever released as a band, called “Record Player,” as well a few from their most recent “Tough Kid” EP, but they also introduced some brand new and unreleased material to the Chicago crowd. Dugan introduced one of the newer tracks saying, “This is our last new song, it’s about going on a walk. This song is called ‘Dog.’” Another fan favorite of their set was the song “Liar,” which Dugan explained was about having a secret crush on a friend—relatable!

After a quick changeover, it was time for The Vaccines to grace a Chicago stage for the first time since 2018, when they headlined a sold out Lincoln Hall. I luckily got to see The Vaccines in London in 2019, but it was still long overdue and great to have them back in my hometown—because the only vaccines I had in the meantime were covid and flu vaccines, and the band is a much better experience.

Each time I’ve seen The Vaccines, I know they’ll be great, but they never fail to impress me with just how topnotch they are as performers. This tour was in celebration of their new album Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations that they just released this January, and not only do they never miss in the witty and catchy songwriting department, but vocalist Justin Hayward-Young remains consistently charismatic (or as the kids would say nowadays, he has rizz). Whenever he wasn’t stationed in front of the mic stand so he could play guitar, Young slinked and danced his way across the length of the stage. The Vaccines’ stage presence has this effortlessly expressive and cool edge to it, yet it’s affable enough that they still feel approachable.

Although they had a relatively quick set length of an hour, the band still packed in hit after hit, mixing in plenty of fans’ old favorites between new material from their last album. Their set wrapped up on a peak of some of their most popular songs, including my personal favorites “I Always Knew” and “If You Wanna.”

Continuing the theme of familiar favorites, The Kooks kicked off the closing set of the evening with “Seaside” from their debut 2006 album Inside In/ Inside Out— which started simple with lead vocalist Luke Pritchard performing solo before the rest of the band joined him onstage. While The Vaccines were celebrating a new album on this tour, The Kooks were actually spotlighting the anniversary of their debut album, so naturally the set list featured the majority of Inside In/ Inside Out’s track list. True to form, “Seaside” is the first track on the album, and the live show followed suit for the first handful of songs, delivering hit after hit to the eager crowd.

While the band often moved from standing upstage to playing on platforms at the back of the stage, Pritchard alternated from playing guitar to roaming freely around the stage as he sang. During some of their songs, Pritchard even showed off his dance moves that were reminiscent of the infamous Hugh Grant dance scene in “Love Actually”— it must be a British thing. The crowd cheered loudly each time he danced, and they weren’t shy about cheering through out the rest of the show. For example, before “Bad Habit” fro 2014’s Listen, fans mimicked the chorus-like melody back in chant-form.

As we got closer to the finale of the evening, Pritchard told the audience, “If we’re gonna go ballistic, now is that time” before playing “Always Where I Need To Be.” The Kooks wrapped up their main set with “Junk of the Heart (Happy),” but returned to rowdy cheers to perform an encore of “Around Town” and the fan favorite “Naive.”

If you’re looking for a jam-packed night of feel-good songs and nostalgia, make sure to grab a ticket for when the tour hits your city and check out the photo recap of the Chicago show below.

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categories / Photos, Reviews, Gigs
tags / Daisy the Great, The Vaccines, The Kooks, The Riviera Theatre, Photo recap, Live Music, Live Review, Jam Productions

Photo Recap: The Wombats at The Vic Theatre

September 29, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

The Wombats returned to Chicago to perform at The Vic Theatre on Wednesday night. Check out photos of the fun-packed show below and see where you can catch the tour next here.

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categories / Photos, Gigs, Music
tags / The Wombats, Live Recap, Live Music, Photo recap, Photo Set

Live Recap: Yoke Lore with Girlhouse at Metro

September 01, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

This past Tuesday night, Yoke Lore returned to Chicago to play his biggest headline show here yet—with a sold out gig at the iconic Metro.

girlhouse, the project of musician and songwriter Lauren Luiz, warmed up the crowd first. Luiz was joined by a full live band, and she told the audience she’d released four EPs this last year, so she had plenty of material to perform during her thirty-minute set. Early on in the set, a fan in the front asked if she’d be playing her single “the fatalist,” and Luiz coyly responded they’d have to wait and see. Towards the end of the set, the song was delivered and the singer told the fan “that was just for you.” girlhouse’s set wrapped up with “concussion,” which is a favorite of mine and has racked up over 10 million streams. I’d recommend adding girlhouse to your playlists if you’re a fan of Wallice, Samia, or Annie DiRusso.

Next up, the scene was set for Yoke Lore, the moniker of musician Adrian Galvin. Galvin and his band had been in Chicago earlier this year to open for Goth Babe at Salt Shed, but it was great to see him as the main event this time. All around the stage, lamps and light bulbs added a cozy vibe, which was fitting because Yoke Lore songs have such a comforting feeling about them. These light bulbs would end up changing colors and setting the tone throughout the night, adding different auras to different songs.

Galvin played through his first few songs, alternating between his signature banjo and acoustic guitar, but after performing his 2019 single “Chin Up,” Galvin took a break to speak to the crowd with a poetic introduction. He told the crowd “Hi, I’m Yoke Lore. I want to tell you what that means.” Galvin then defined the mission behind his musical project, ending the introductory speech by saying, “And music is how I use the personal to conjure the infinite.”

Galvin addressed the crowd in a similar style a few times throughout the evening, which really added a special touch to the live performance in between the songs. In addition to some of his tried and true material and fan favorites, like “Seeds” and his cover of “Truly Madly Deeply,” Galvin sprinkled in some newer music. The new songs included singles like “Hallucinate” and “Shake,” which were both released this year, as well as some unreleased songs from his upcoming debut album Toward A Never Ending New Beginning, which will be released this month. The new music had more of an electronic backbone to it, and Galvin took some time to show off his dance moves in those moments.

The main part of Yoke Lore’s set wrapped with his hit “Beige,” which was truly a beautiful moment. Galvin began standing at the edge of the stage playing the banjo, with the crowd kicking off the song in a choir-like fashion before he eventually moved back to the microphone to join them in singing.

After a very loud demand for an encore, Yoke Lore returned to the stage to perform Tom Robbins, which Galvin told the crowd is a song he only performs live and was inspired by his favorite book. The evening wrapped up with another full-venue singalong to “Goodpain.”

As I left the Metro that night, I found out the Cubs had a massive win, as I was greeted by “Go Cubs Go” cheers from Wrigley Field down the block. The victorious chants matched the euphoric energy I felt leaving the Yoke Lore show.

Check out photos from the evening below and see where you can catch Yoke Lore next here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs
tags / Yoke Lore, girlhouse, Live Music, Metro Chicago, Concerts, Live Show, Live Recap, Photo Set

PHOTOS: Bastille's Bad Blood X Finale at The Wiltern

August 30, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

Bastille wrapped up their 10-year anniversary tour of their debut album, dubbed the Bad Blood X tour, on Friday night at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Check out the photo gallery of the evening below, and see where you can catch the band next here.

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categories / Music, Gigs, Photos
tags / Bastille, Photo recap, The Wiltern, Live Music, Bad Blood, Bad Blood X, Los Angeles

Live Recap: The Goo Goo Dolls with O.A.R. at Northerly Island

August 27, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

While Summer may be winding down, there’s nothing better than an outdoor concert in Chicago (assuming the weather is cooperating). This past Tuesday night, The Goo Goo Dolls and O.A.R performed to a packed house at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island—one of the last handful of shows at this venue for the season.

As a teenager in the early aughts, I remember loving O.A.R.’s hit “Love and Memories,” but I went into their show not knowing too much more of their material. While I wasn’t able to sing along to the unfamiliar parts of their setlist, I seemed to be the odd man out, as I saw many of the people around me enthusiastically singing and dancing along to most of the band’s songs. O.A.R’s lineup also included Jerry DePizzo on the saxophone, which added some fun texture to their live sound. Lead vocalist Marc Roberge introduced fan favorite “This Town” as being a “celebration of our travels.” Other fan favorites included “Hey Girl” and “Shattered (Turn the Car Around).”

The Goo Goo Dolls took the stage next, after the sun had set. Their introduction featured a flurry of news reports that appeared on “televisions” on their background screen. The backdrop morphed throughout the night, flickering to different colors and graphics depending on the song—sometimes depicting stars and other times fire.

The setlist kicked off with “Broadway” from the band’s 1998 hit album Dizzy up the Girl, immediately setting the energy on high. We also heard “Slide” and “Black Balloon” from the same album in the early part of the set, which kept up the tone of nostalgia. For the latter of those songs, actual black balloons bounced around throughout the crowd, creating a tangible effect to accompany the song.

Johnny Rzeznik sang the majority of the songs on their 24-song set, but occasionally Rzeznik swapped the lead vocals duty with bassist/vocalist Robby Takac for songs like “Bringing On the Light” and “Life’s a Message.” Throughout the show, the band also introduced some refreshed arrangements on their popular songs; Rzeznik sang their song “Sympathy” sans guitar, accompanied only by the piano and he also sprinkled in some A capella moments during the performance of “Name.” Before playing that song, Rzeznik also introduced it as the first song The Goo Goo Dolls had played on the radio, saying “that’s when all the trouble started.”

Another highlight of the night included a cover of the late, great Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” which featured Marc Roberge as a guest performer. The icing on the cake for the evening was the group therapy vibes of singing along the lyrics to “Iris” as the band’s closing song—there’s just something cathartic about screaming “And you bleed just to know you’re alive” along with a crowd full of strangers.

Check out photos of the evening below, and see where you can catch The Goo Goo Dolls next here.

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categories / Gigs, Music, Photos, Reviews
tags / Northerly Island, Live Recap, Live Music, The Goo Goo Dolls, OAR, Photo recap, Photo Set

PHOTOS: Temples with Post Animal at Metro

June 20, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

Temples and Post Animal kicked off the weekend with a performance at Metro on Friday, June 16th. Check out photos of the show below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.

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categories / Gigs, Photos
tags / Temples, Post Animal, Metro Chicago, Metro, Live Music, Concerts, Concert Photography

Live Recap: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Bring Their Residency Tour to Salt Shed

June 15, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

This past Sunday night, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard returned to Chicago for the first of their three-night sold-out residency here at the Salt Shed.

Despite it being nearly mid-June, the weather was unseasonably cold and windy, but that didn’t stop King Gizz’s dedicated fan base from coming out in droves. Amongst the jackets and beanies I saw walking into the Shed, I saw some folks wearing wizard hats and even someone rocking a lizard costume in homage to the band.

It’s been a few years since I last saw King Gizz here, and in that time they’ve released more albums than I can count on two hands, so I wasn’t sure which songs to expect on their set list. Many of the fans in attendance on Sunday night were planning on attending multiple nights of the tour (either in Chicago or elsewhere), but even they wouldn’t really know what to expect as KGWL has the tendency to change up their set from show to show.

On Sunday, the music kicked off with “Pleura” and “O.N.E.” from the 2021 album L.W. Just before launching into the third song of the evening, the band invited an audience member, whose name we learned was Seb, onto the stage to introduce the next song. Standing next to band members Joey Walker and Stu Mackenzie and their dual microphone stand, Seb commenced the performance of “Nuclear Fusion” by growling the song title in a similar fashion to what you can hear on the studio version. Seb’s short-but-sweet guest appearance got a raucous round of applause from the crowd.

From the jump, audience members began moshing and crowd surfing, but their energy only amplified when Mackenzie took a moment to thank everyone for coming out and braving the gnarly weather, adding “the best way to stay warm is to move your body.” Later on in their set, I stood on the Salt Shed’s balcony and got to take in the aerial view of the giant mosh pit, at one point even getting to witness a circle pit.

Throughout King Gizz’s two-hour set, they mixed in a lot of diverse musical styling and genres, but for the most part it swayed jam band-esque, which is fitting because the band jokingly dedicated one of their songs to John Mayer. Mayer was in town the same weekend for shows with Dead and Company, but if you ask me, I’d much prefer to watch “The Grateful Gizz” in concert! KGWL added texture to their live performance by peppering in flute (played by Mackenzie) and saxophone (played by Ambrose Kenny-Smith) on some of the songs. The evening closed out with a performance of “Boogieman Sam” from the 2019 album Fishing for Fishies.

Check out photos of the evening below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.

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categories / Gigs, Photos, Reviews
tags / King Gizz, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Live Recap, Live Music, Salt Shed

Take the Moment and Taste It: A Live Recap of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour at Ford Field

June 13, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

Picture this; you’re standing in a sold out stadium surrounded by sparkling and sequined-out Swifities, getting ready to watch Taylor Swift perform an over-3-hour show—*record scratch, freeze-frame* You’re probably wondering how we got here. Cut to Taylor Swift sitting at the piano, mid-Evermore set, telling the audience about the many albums she released since her last tour and during quarantine (Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights). “People were like ‘Are you sure you want to put all these albums out? You won’t be able to tour on the individual album and there’s so many albums you’ve made and you haven’t been able to tour’ and I was like, I have a plan. It’s called The Eras Tour,” she told the crowd, revealing the mastermind scheme behind her current tour that started March 17th in Glendale, AZ and will wrap up the U.S leg on August 9th in Los Angeles, CA.

Rewinding the clock back a few hours, it’s around 5 PM on Saturday, June 10th and I’ve just arrived at Ford Field in Motown (aka Detroit) following a road trip from Chicago, where the Eras Tour had just stopped the previous week for three sold out shows. As I make my way into the stadium, I’m surrounded by a sea of fellow fans ready to witness the second and final night of Swift’s shows in Detroit. While I trek through the massive venue to my seat, I observe all of the stunning and clever outfits that the audience is sporting; there’s everything from elaborate hand-sewn costumes modeled off of some of Taylor’s iconic Grammy Awards show looks to jewel-coloured sequins in every hue to funny shirts that say “It’s me, hi, I’m the husband, it’s me” (which were being rocked by several supportive Swiftie hubbies). There was a mix of excitement and anxiety in the air, like the entire crowd was holding their breath until the show they’d been anticipating for more than six months would finally kick off. While fans anxiously awaited for the support acts to warm up the stage, many were either standing in the (very long) merch lines throughout the venue, or watching some of the behind-the-scenes footage from music video shoots that was being played on the stage’s screen.

Around 6:25 PM, the stadium lights dimmed and singer-songwriter OWENN took the stage. OWENN started off his entertainment career as a dancer and choreographer working with many well-known artists, including none-other than Taylor Swift herself when he danced with her on the 1989 and Reputation tours and starred in the “Lover” music video. Regardless of his rich history with Swift, OWENN quickly won over the audience during his short-but-sweet set while he played a handful of his songs, including “Baby Girl,” “Show Me,” and “Rest Of My Life.” Fans showed their appreciation by holding up their cell-phone lights and swaying during some of the songs. Before he left the stage, OWENN made sure to thank Taylor for having him on the tour, saying, “She could've chose anyone, but she chose me. I’m so thankful to Taylor.”

After a very quick turnaround time, Norwegian musician Marie Ulven Ringheim, better known as Girl in Red, came in hot, opening up her set with the song “You Stupid Bitch.” Many of the audience members stood up from their seats and joined Girl in Red by dancing and singing the words to the upbeat song. Ringheim primed the crowd for the rest of her performance, saying, “I was here last night and what I witnessed [from Taylor] was fucking fantastic. I’m gonna give you the 1% that I can do of her show.” Girl in Red’s set length might have only been a sliver of the stage time that Swift had, but I’d say she gave it a whole lot more than 1%-- Ringheim completely captivated the stadium, running around the massive stage as she performed songs like “Bad Idea” and “Serotonin.” In the latter track, Ringheim sings “I'm running low on serotonin,” but that statement couldn’t have been less true for everyone in attendance, based on the beaming smiles I saw around me. “It’s been a pleasure. I’m Girl in Red, thank you to my band, crew, and Taylor. She is the coolest person in the world and I can’t wait to see her show again,” Ringheim told the crowd to wrap up her performance.

At this point, the room swelled with palpable anticipation. During the final changeover before the main event, fans hurried to top up their refreshments or take pictures in front of the Eras Tour backdrop on the stage. Finally, the song “Applause” by Lady Gaga rang out through the house speakers and the screen onstage began to display a countdown clock that started at 2 minutes and 23 seconds. The clock ticked down second by second, in a moment that both felt like a lifetime and a quick blink of an eye, and fans screamed along with the final ten seconds.

And just like that, right before 7:55 PM, Swift’s dancers appeared onstage carrying a bouquet of pastel-colored parachutes while an introductory medley of her catalog played through the speakers. Donning a glistening bodysuit and matching boots, the singer emerged from behind the parachutes to sing out the opening lines of “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” as the start of her Lover portion of the show. Fittingly, the chorus of the track begins with the lyrics “It’s been a long time coming,” making it the perfect song to open a tour that’s been five years in the making. The set moved onto the hit “Cruel Summer” next, a song that everyone scream-sang along to– especially during the bridge. Leading up to that iconic moment of the song, Taylor told the audience, “Detroit, we have arrived! The very first bridge of the evening. Now what do we do when we arrive at a bridge such as this, Detroit? Oh, we scream it!” Throughout the show, Taylor’s musical performance was complemented by beautiful and often-complex visual aids that appeared both on the background screen and stage itself, but that wasn’t all that this show delivered. Taylor, as well as her dancing crew, often mixed in theatrical elements into the performance. A prime example of this was done before she performed the third song of the night, “The Man.” Swift told the audience that they were making her feel “very powerful” and like “I get to play a sold out show at Ford Field” as she kissed her biceps and slipped on a blazer, mimicking the power play that society often attributes towards men. In just these first few moments of the show, Swift’s movements were already creating a physical representation of her songwriting, a theme that continued throughout every era. During this first portion, fans also got to hear “You Need to Calm Down,” “The Archer,” and of course, the album’s title track. Before singing “Lover,” Swift gave a detailed thank you to her support acts, recalling her history with OWENN and telling everyone how much she loves Girl in Red’s last album. The additional details in her appreciation for the support is just one of the ways that Swift showcased the dedication and thoughtfulness she poured into this tour. While the tour dancers slow-danced around the stage, the audiences’ wristbands light up like glistening Christmas lights, almost like an homage to the song’s opening lyrics “We can leave the Christmas lights up til January.”

Taylor Swift performing “Lover” // Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

To signify the transition into the next era, the stage backdrop displayed a golden rain shower to get the audience feeling fearless. During this seamless transition, Swift quickly changed her outfit backstage to one that was reminiscent of her look during the original Fearless timeframe in 2008 (we of course got Taylor’s version of the record in 2021). Swift performed the album’s title track to kick off this portion, playing the song on a silver gem-bedazzled acoustic guitar that matched her dress. The stage itself also coordinated with this theme– the graphics displayed the image of an acoustic guitar in the center of the stage floor. The 3-song Fearless era of the show also contained “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” both of which had the crowd scream-singing along.

Next, the timeline jumped all the way to 2020 for Evermore, the second album that Taylor released that year as a sort of sister album to Folklore. To signify the whimsical, witchy nature of this record, the visual transition displayed images of a dark forest. Swift performed “'tis the damn season” wearing an orange and gold dress, eventually adding on a winter-green cloak for the second song of this set, “willow.” The woodsy visual effects evolved throughout the Evermore moment, at some points casting the illusion of fire and at other times displaying snow-covered trees. No matter what was happening on the screen behind Taylor and her crew, the production elements were so well done that it left little to the fans’ imaginations– we were all able to experience the scenes that Taylor paints for us with her words right there on the stage. Most of the songs that Swift performed from Evermore have a toned-down, folksy mood that meant fans were just regularly singing along (and not scream-singing along). That is, until we got to the bridge of “champagne problems,” one of the album’s singles that Swift performed on a custom-decorated piano that fits with the forest aesthetic. Before we got back to the scream-singing part of the set, Taylor took a break to talk to the audience again, letting us know she was recovering from a “tiny cold” and recalling the very first time she performed at Ford Field, back in 2006 when she sang the National Anthem before a Detroit Lions game. Despite still recovering from that cold, Swift’s vocals sounded strong and stunning throughout the show, even during the more vulnerable moments like her piano performances. Back to “champagne problems,” the audience gave the bridge of that song their all, yelling the lyrics “‘She would've made such a lovely bride/What a shame she's fucked in the head,’ they said” back to Taylor. The enthusiasm of the crowd in that moment didn’t go unnoticed; after finishing the song, Swift surveyed the room with tearful eyes filled with gratitude. The moment of gratitude was met with the audience chanting “Taylor!” to which the singer said “You guys are such nice people, thank you so much.”

Taylor Swift in her Evermore Era// Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

The Evermore set ended with a dramatic performance of the ballad “tolerate it” before moving into what I consider to be the most epic transition of the night. To signify the jump to 2017 for the Reputation album, flashes of a hissing snake appeared on the stage’s screen, while sounds of echoing high-heel clacks poured out of the speakers. Not only is Reputation a highly-adored album in the fanbase, but the shift into these songs also meant an uptick in the overall tempo of the music from the previous set, and you could feel the audience’s excitement to pick up the pace. The set kicked off with the album’s opening track “...Ready For It?” which the crowd loudly confirmed they were, in fact, ready for it with overbearing screams. Taylor launched into the quick-tempoed first verse of the song and the hype built up even more. Next up in this era, Swift performed one of my all-time favorites “Delicate.” It’s become a tradition for fans to yell “1,2,3 let’s go bitch!” right after the introduction of the song before the first main verse, and Taylor fed into that tradition by counting up to 3 with her hand ahead of the chant. Other highlights of the Rep set included the pinnacle of “Don’t Blame Me,” when Swift hits her signature high note (again, while being ill!) and the bridge of the ultimate revenge track “Look What You Made Me Do.”

“In my *Reputation* Era”/ Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

The high-energy bled into the quickest of all of the eras sets, Speak Now, which was solely represented by the song “Enchanted.” Despite being only one-song, this moment was still pivotal in the performance. The lyrics “This night is sparkling, don't you let it go” pretty much sum up the magic of this Eras tour. Also, Speak Now was originally released in 2010, but Taylor announced during her show in Nashville earlier in the tour that the Taylor’s Version of the record will be released on July 7, 2023, so there may be more of this album showcased during the last leg of the tour following the re-release.

Speaking of re-releases, the next segment of the show took us back to 2012 if we’re talking about the original…But if we’re talking Taylor’s Version, the timeline takes us to November of 2021, when Taylor blessed us with her special re-recorded version of Red, including a few “From The Vault” tracks. This era was introduced to us with one of the dancers entering a silent stage, breaking up the stillness by opening up a red box that played clips of the hits from Red that were not included in the set that followed. The main performance kicked off with Taylor, alongside her dancers, taking the stage wearing a top hat and sequin shirt that read “Who’s Taylor Swift Anyways? Ew.” to poke fun of some of the hate comments she’d received online during the Red timeframe. Another huge tradition of this Eras tour is that every night, Taylor’s team handpicks a lucky fan to stand at the end of the stage’s runway while she sings “22,” and at the end of the song, Swift kneels down to gift her hat to the chosen fan. For the performances of the hits “We Are Never Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble,” Swift also ditched the shirt to sport a red and black romper to coordinate with the album’s colors. The audiences’ wristbands also flashed red throughout these songs to tie into the color coordination. The pinnacle of this portion happened during the 10-minute version of “All To Well,” which was one of the “From The Vault” versions of the re-release. I’m not exaggerating when I say singing along to every single lyric of this song was just as cathartic as an hour-long therapy session. During “All Too Well,” confetti was shot into the stadium to represent the “Autumn leaves fallin' down like pieces into place” and “the first fall of snow,” which added a multi-sensory element to the theatrical touches of the performance.

The cathartic moment of “All Too Well” // Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

With everyone’s emotions still at a peak, the show journeyed into the Folklore phase, bringing us back to the first quarantine album that Taylor released in 2020. A spoken word version of the song “Seven” eased us into the cozy cabin that contains these songs (figuratively and literally because the new stage set up included a full-size A-frame cabin). Swift made her entrance to this portion laying on the roof of the aforementioned cabin, draped in an off- white, flowy gown to sing the album’s opening track “the 1,” a song that was co-written and produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner. Following the introductory song, Taylor moved into the cabin saying “we have brought the Folklore cabin to Detroit.” She further elaborated on the significance that the cabin plays in the world of these songs, saying, “I started writing Folklore about two days into the pandemic. Folklore was a state of mind for me. I could escape to this forest in the middle of the woods. It became this imaginary vacation spot.” This mental vacation also represented a departure from the very personal method that Taylor traditionally writes, as these songs saw her telling stories from the point of view of fictionalized characters…such as Betty, Inez and James from the song “Betty,” which was performed next.

With a total of seven songs from Folklore’s sixteen-song tracklist performed, that makes it one of the most represented albums on this tour. This era was also one of the most emotional of the night, with most of the songs performed in a dramatic and passionate fashion by both Taylor and the dancers. Just as the writing of these songs provided an escape from the quarantine-reality that Swift experienced, the performance of them breathed life into that concept of escapism and it truly felt like we dropped into a fictional world while experiencing songs like “my tears ricochet,” “august” and “cardigan.”

The *Folklore* forest /Photo by Rachel Zyzda

As sudden as a snap of fingers, the audience was transported into the world of 1989 (the album, not the year). Taylor and her dancers brought us back to the year 2014 when she transitioned into a more pop-centric sound with iconic hits such as “Style” and “Shake It Off.” Swift performed all of these songs while decked out in an orange, sparkling two piece set and matching booties. During “Blank Space,” her dancers acted out smashing a car that appeared on the stage screen with golf clubs, an homage to the song’s music video. During “Shake It Off,” there wasn’t a single person in the 60,000-capacity stadium not singing and shaking along.

Now, the 1989 set technically wrapped up with Taylor singing “Bad Blood,” but fans were graced with one final song from that album during the acoustic stint of the evening. At every show on this tour, Taylor sings two “surprise songs” that are not included in the main portion of the setlist, and she rotates the song selection every single night. Swift sings the first of the surprise songs on acoustic guitar, before moving over to a piano set up at the end of the stage’s catwalk, and the song performed on guitar ended up being “All You Had To Do Was Stay.” Taylor introduced the track from 1989 by saying “I really don’t think I’ve ever played this song acoustic, but I love this song so much. It’s interesting cause it has this like really loud, really high sound in it” before demonstrating the signature falsetto “stay” she sings in the chorus, which instantly caused the room to dissolve into deafening screams. For the second surprise song, Taylor dove into it without any warning or introduction, which caused my heart to leap into my throat with excitement because it was one of my top three favorite songs of her’s. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the full-body goosebumps I felt hearing her sing “Breathe” from her album Fearless, which is a song that single-handedly helped me survive my first ever heartbreak.

Taylor Swift performing “Breathe.” /Photo by Rachel Zyzda

I know I mentioned earlier that the Reputation era had the most iconic transition, but I have to amend that statement to say it tied with the next transition; As Taylor got up from the piano at the end of the stage, an opening appeared on the stage floor for her to dive into. After she dives, a graphic of her swimming up to the other end of the stage appears. When Taylor returns to the stage, she’s sporting a fuzzy lavender jacket in homage to “Lavender Haze,” the first track on her most recent album, Midnights. Unbelievably, we’ve reached the three-hour mark of the show at this point, and we’ve entered the final Era of the evening. The experience both felt like it had lasted ages and had gone by in a flash.

Last, but certainly not least, the Midnights era ended the evening on an all-time high– everything from the costumes, the production elements, the dancing, and Taylor’s singing were as dazzling as the jeweled-colored lights of the audiences’ wristbands during “Bejeweled.” Just about every song performed from Midnights saw Taylor making a swift (sorry, that was too cheesy) costume transition, including the switch into a midnight blue one-piece for “Midnight Rain” that Taylor changed into under the umbrellas of her dancers. In the ultimate bittersweet moment, the show concluded with the performance of “Karma,” which featured all of the performers draped in neon-colored, glittering fringe jackets dancing under a rainstorm of confetti. The grand finale also featured toned-down “fireworks” that were essentially sparkly pyrotechnics because Ford Field is an enclosed space (which means no real fireworks!)

“Lately, I’ve been dressing for revenge”// Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

At the end of the theatrical, emotional and extraordinary performance I felt an overwhelming sense of awe, quickly followed by a bout of exhaustion. So many concert-goers who have had the opportunity to witness this once-in-a-lifetime tour have said they felt “hungover” afterwards, despite not drinking. This shared sentiment from the attendees is enough to keep me forever astounded by Taylor Swift’s accomplishments as a musician and entertainer because she’s able to repeat this spectacle night after night. It’s obvious that a tour this massive has a huge team behind it; From the dancers, to the production crew, to the live band, there are countless people putting their blood, sweat and tears into this show, but Taylor Swift acts as the true North Star of the performance, anchoring each and every one of the moving pieces.

The albums and songs that make up the Eras Tour setlist have all acted as a soundtrack to my life during different chapters of it, and I’m so grateful that this concert is now another cherished memory that will perpetually be tied to these songs. As a society, I think we can tend to underestimate the value of pop music, but after the dedication and sheer athleticism that Taylor Swift has displayed throughout the course of this tour and her phenomenal performances, she continues to prove just how impactful pop music can be.

I will admit that I’m slightly biased as an established Swiftie, but I truly believe that the Eras Tour is the performance of the century– unless of course Taylor eventually tops herself.

Tune into the tour setlist below, and see where you can catch the Eras Tour next here.

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categories / Reviews, Gigs, Photos, Music
tags / Taylor Swift, Eras Tour, Ford Field, Live Music, Live Recap, Concert Review, Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, Fearless, Red, Reputation, 1989, Girl In Red, OWENN, Stadium Tour, Swifties