Taylor Swift has finally brought The Eras Tour to Australia, where she performed the biggest shows of her career at her first stop in Melbourne. Fans made the trek from all over the country to embrace her with sequin-studded costumes, friendship bracelets and open arms. (Image: Jade Woollacott)
By Jade Woollacott | @JadeWoollacott
Last weekend, Taylor Swift performed her biggest shows yet to three sold-out crowds of 96,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Tens of thousands of fans who weren’t lucky enough to survive last June’s great Ticketek war didn’t cancel their plans. They made the trip anyway, enjoying the show from outside the stadium.
From this vantage point, Swift may not have been seen, but she was heard … and so were they. From inside the stadium, a clear echo of each lyric made their support obvious.
It wasn’t just across the three nights of concerts where Swift’s presence and the excitement of her fans were felt. In the days leading up to the long-awaited weekend, Swift was hard to escape, and she wasn’t even in the country yet.
Vintage stalls at the Fitzroy markets played Swift’s discography on a loop as did many other shops in and around the heart of Melbourne.
Bars concocted cocktails with names like “Lavender Haze” and “New York Sour” that fit the theme of different eras and popular songs. One bar had each of these cocktails listed for $19.89, after the name of her fifth studio album.
The Flinders Street Train Station lit up in tribute to Swift’s arrival. Even Public Transport Victoria jumped on the train (no pun intended) with signage welcoming Swifties to Melbourne and pun-filled announcements of increased services for fans.
Pre- and post-concert parties were put on and so were viewing parties. Merchandise pre-sales with wait times of over an hour did not deter fans. No matter where you were in Melbourne there was a Taylor Swift jumper, t-shirt or tote bag in sight.
Fans made friendship bracelets and kindly traded them between complete strangers who had all come together for a sole purpose.
Swift hasn’t been to Australia since 2018 when she toured for her album Reputation.
In the six years since, she has released four new studio albums and four re-recordings of her pre-existing albums. Each re-recording has been accompanied by a list of new songs — or “vault tracks” — that were scrapped from the original releases.
Every new release has brought with it new favourites and quintessential classics that fans would drop everything to hear.
It is safe to say this tour has been “a long time coming,” which made the perfect opening lyric to commence the show with.
Prices for tickets varied greatly with nosebleed and obstructed view tickets going for less than $150 and highly coveted front-row seats coming in at upwards of $1,200.
While some of these prices may have been a little steep, three sold-out shows at the MCG and overwhelming increases in flights and accommodation bookings were proof of her fans’ willingness to spare no expense. For those who did manage to score a seat, it is instantly apparent that Swift felt the same.
There truly is no bad seat at a Taylor Swift concert. Graphics on the screens at the back of the stage as well as on the stage floor itself reflect each “era” that Swift recreates, telling a story for the fans high in the stands.
Throughout her career, Swift has created a variety of specific aesthetics for each album, using colours and her own style. These have become universally known by her fans as “eras”.
The colour of each album as well as the iconic looks she wore at the time of their release signify each era. As Swift moves through each of these eras on stage, she transports the entire crowd through time with her.
Swift’s meticulous set design and seamless transitions between eras can be equated to some kind of sorcery. Mythical trees grow from beneath the stage floor and glowing orbs held by dancers illuminate in perfect timing with the screen behind them.
When Swift first appears onstage, she manifests from beneath billowing pastel-coloured parachutes, manoeuvred by dancers, that seemingly defy gravity.
There are pyrotechnics, confetti and fireworks. Fans wear wristbands that light up in different colours to match each era and pulse in time with the songs. During the Reputation era a snake slithers around the stadium.
At one point Swift dives into a hole in the stage and with the assistance of stage graphics and perfectly planned timing, swims up its entire length.
Whether you are a Taylor Swift fan or not, there is no denying she knows how to put on a show. To be inside the stadium is to be fully enthralled in each era.
If you are a Swiftie, you likely knew the set list “all too well” before you even purchased a ticket. Not only has the concert been all over TikTok, but Swift herself released the Eras Tour Movie just after finishing the first leg of the tour in the U.S.
However, whether you have already seen the concert 100 times in the cinema or on a grainy live stream, nothing comes close to watching it in person.
Even if you think you know every detail, Swift will always find a way to surprise the crowd.
The acoustic set of her show has become highly anticipated by her fans. It became a tradition during the U.S. leg of the tour for Swift to perform two surprise songs that are not included in the set list.
She had vowed not to repeat the same song twice unless she made a mistake, or unless it was a song from her latest album, Midnights. However, Swift was running out of songs to play after her U.S. shows, so she reset the list for 2024.
Melbourne fans were not disappointed. Night one heard her first-ever live performance of Midnights bonus track “You’re Losing Me” and a surprise announcement of a new variation of her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department with a new cover and bonus track titled “The Bolter”.
On night two, crowds were surprised with a three-way mash-up of “Getaway Car”, “August” and “The Other Side of the Door” from her albums Reputation, Folklore and Fearless respectively.
Finally, night three heard a mash-up of “Come Back… Be Here” from the album Red and “Daylight” from the album Lover. During this show Swift surprised her fans by announcing she will no longer be enforcing her ”no repetition rule”.
In her own words, she “[doesn’t] want to take any paint colours out of the paint box”.
“I want to be as creative as possible with the acoustic set moving forward and I don’t want to limit anything,” she said.
With the rules of the acoustic set now scrapped, fans are anticipating what she has in store for her shows this weekend.
The Melbourne leg of the tour may be over, but fans are now flocking to Sydney for the four shows she is set to play at Accor Stadium.
If Melbourne is anything to go by, this weekend will “long live” in our memories.
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