Jim Harrington is a reporter with the Bay Area News Group and caught Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Friday, July 28 ahead of the tour’s final stops at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Aug. 3-5 and 7-9.
Taylor Swift’s fingers danced across the keyboards of a faux-moss-covered piano, crooning through the ballad “Champagne Problems” in the midst of a bizarrely intriguing fairytale stage set, as a two-thirds-full moon hung in the sky and 58,000 fans sang along with her every word.
She softly brought the number to a close, breaking a mesmerizing lyrical spell of heartbreak and anguish, and then took a moment to bask in the towering applause from the capacity crowd on Friday night (July 28) at Levi’s Stadium in “Swiftie Clara” (the name that the City of Santa Clara has officially — and temporarily — adopted in honor of the pop star’s two concerts at the venue).
ALSO SEE: Taylor Swift’s 6 SoFi Stadium Shows: What you need to know before you go
Yet, the moment lingered far longer than expected, as chants of “Taylor! Taylor! Taylor!” echoed through the house of the San Francisco 49ers, leaving the star a bit shaken, to the point where she looked like she might shed a tear at the unbridled display of love.
“This is amazing. What are you doing?” the pop star responded in disbelief. “That was the most generous reaction to a sad, little piano song.”
You want to talk about generous? Consider that Swift — the biggest star in the pop music universe, with pretty much zero left to prove — delivered a mammoth, curfew-shattering 3½-hour performance that included nearly four dozen songs. Now, that’s generous — and amazing, especially since she surely could’ve cut both those figures in half and still delivered a show that would’ve greatly pleased fans.
ALSO SEE: For Taylor Swift fans headed to SoFi, Metro will run some trains late, add 2 free shuttles
Yet, this show isn’t like others. It’s part of the Era Tour, where Swift is supporting not just one but four new (or newish) albums — 2019’s “Lover,” 2020’s “Folklore” and “Evermore” and 2022’s “Midnights.” (And that’s not counting the three so-called “Taylor’s Version” reissues of her older records.)
The show is organized by album (or era, if you will), with Swift performing a batch of tunes from one particular album and then moving onto the next. It doesn’t move chronologically, but rather zigzags back and forth through the years, with different sets and wardrobes coming into play with each era.
Swift kicked off the show in “Lover” territory, sounding great as she performed a half-dozen numbers — “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” “Cruel Summer,” “The Man,” “You Need to Calm Down,” “Lover” and “The Archer” — from that 2019 chart-topping album.
Swift — who also had been made honorary mayor by the City of Santa Clara/Swiftie Clara — seemed to draw energy from the fans, who sang along to every number and were basically on their feet throughout the entire epic set.
“Santa Clara, California, you are making me feel incredible right now,” said Swift, who was set to perform a second sold-out show at Levi’s on Saturday.
Working in front of a massive video screen, which basically ran the entire width of the football field, Swift boogied along to her live band, joined forces with her backing vocalists and high-stepped it with a number of dancers as she moved through both new and old albums.
She’d venture as far back as her sophomore full-length — 2008’s diamond-certified “Fearless” — for two of the best songs of the night, “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.” Yet, the newer albums received the most attention, with both “Folklore” and ‘Midnights” warranting seven songs each in the ample setlist.
“It feels like forever since I’ve been able to play a show in the Bay Area,” she noted as moved into “Evermore” material. “It’s been five years.”
Swift was still going strong as she approached the venue’s 11 p.m. weekend curfew, having just finished up a great set of “1989” songs — including “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood” and “Shake It Off.” As the clock ticked past the curfew, Swift performed her two surprise songs — which change from concert to concert. This time around, the singer was joined by frequent collaborator Aaron Dessner for the acoustic-guitar-driven “Right Where You Left Me” and then performed a solo piano rendition of “Castles Crumbling,” marking the first time Swift had played that song in concert.
Swift finished up the show right around 11:38 p.m., having given the 58,000 fans in attendance a night truly worth remembering for eras to come. As for Santa Clara, the city has not yet responded to Swift’s cracking the 11 p.m. curfew, or the fact that she could be poised to do so again when she performs her second show at Levis.
Setlist:
“Lover”
1. “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”
2. “Cruel Summer”
3. “The Man”
4. “You Need to Calm Down”
5. “Lover”
6. “The Archer”
“Fearless”
7. “Fearless”
8. “You Belong With Me”
9. “Love Story”
“Evermore”
10. “No Body, No Crime”
11. “Willow”
12. “Marjorie”
13. “Champagne Problems”
14. “Tolerate it”
“Reputation”
15. “…Ready for It?”
16. “Delicate”
17. “Don’t Blame Me”
18. “Look What You Made Me Do”
“Speak Now”
19. “Enchanted”
20. “Long Live”
“Red”
21. “22”
22. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
23. “I Knew You Were Trouble”
24. “All Too Well”
“Folklore”
25. “The 1″
26. “Betty”
27. “The Last Great American Dynasty”
28. “August”
29. “Illicit Affairs”
30. “My Tears Ricochet”
31. “Cardigan”
“1989”
32. “Style”
33. “Blank Space”
34. “Shake It Off”
35. “Wildest Dreams”
36. “Bad Blood”
Surprise Songs
37. “Right Where You Left Me”
38. “Castles Crumbling”
“Midnights”
39. “Lavender Haze”
40. “Anti‐Hero”
41. “Midnight Rain”
42. “Vigilante (Expletive)”
43. “Bejeweled”
44. “Mastermind”
45. “Karma”
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Music News Click Here
