July 2023

Swift also highlighted a creative burst during the pandemic, at one point telling the now near silent crowd that music has been “a coping mechanism” for her since she was a youth, and that during 2020 and early 2021 she wrote as many songs as she could to exercise her imagination and keep her sanity. Lucky for fans that period of self reflection and creativity turned into six albums in three years, including her “Taylor’s Version,” re-recordings of three other early releases that she has been so vocal of the circumstances that surrounded them. She thanked fans for supporting the latter, noting that “this is sort of the definition of a passion project. I didn’t go in to the projects with any demands or expectations that you guys had to like my new versions more or you had to support them, right? But the coolest thing happened. I put out my very first re-record (‘Fearless’)…You guys, like, rolled up your sleeves and dove in head-first and you were like, ‘Nope, these are the versions we support’… Honestly, I’m gonna be thanking you for that for the rest of my life.” And there’s no question that one of the highlights of the night for Swifties was the new, nearly 10-minute version of “All Too Well” that she created for “Red (Taylor’s Version).” The entire night, from the massive video clock that counted down the opening to the confetti filled ending was one highlight after another. Just when you thought you’d seen the most epic part of the show, Swift delivered something else that replaced it. And as a fan, you didn’t dare look away or leave your seat for a beverage for fear of missing something even more “over the top!” Among those that left a indelible mark on Saturdays performance were “The Last Great American Dynasty” with Swift singing while her dancers’ formal cotillion; parts of the “folklore” section that she sang on the roof of the “folklore cabin,” a creation “in my mind” that fueled that album’s song stories; a “Blank Spaces” that featured Swift on a center-stage riser with projections of herself underneath and dancers riding around on neon- lit bicycles and wielding neon golf clubs; dancers in lighted, rotating booths for “Look What You Made Me Do;” and a quick costume change amidst umbrella-toting dancers during “Midnight Rain.” Swift was a bundle of energy as she roamed the stage – nearly 50 yards wide and 100 yards long- in a variety of outfits, from tight body suits to flowing formal gowns, while the a nearly stadium-wide video screen displayed an array of live close-ups and prepared short films. The electronic lifts in the middle section of the stage changed shapes and forms for each era, while periodic pyrotechnics became a full fireworks display for the closing “Karma.” Amidst all the extravaganza throughout Swifts performance, the longest ovation of the night came for “Champagne Problems,” which Swift sang solo at a “moss-covered” piano during the “evermore” Era, after asking for a tissue to blow her nose, telling fans that she “was at the end of a cold.” Early on Saturday, Swift explained that her “goal for the end of the evening is when you hear these songs after this show, you’re gonna be thinking about tonight and the time we all had together.” There were indeed a multitude of memories created Saturday, by both young and old, (and rumor has it Fridays show wasn’t to shabby either for the memory department,) and she gave the Swifties – including some Taylor-gaters on the sidewalk on Ford Field’s east side, peering through the windows — plenty to think about until the next time they see her, which of course, can’t come too soon. Be sure to get your tickets to see Taylor Swift in a city near you! Have you already seen a Taylor Swift concert? What was your favorite part? 18