Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

What can be said about the Eras Tour that hasn't been said a million times? It was a phenomenal show! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I traveled to Stockholm specifically for this concert and decided to make a little weekend trip out of it. The plane I was on was absolutely packed with other people traveling there for the show, and of course they played some Taylor Swift songs when we boarded to set the mood.

Not many artists can transform a big city into one giant party revolving around the shows they're doing there, but Taylor managed it. Everywhere I went I heard Taylor Swift music, every billboard had a reference to her or her music, and nearly every store had some sort of deal named after her.

My friend and I showed up to the VIP queue after getting our merch sorted at about 11 AM, and then spent the seven hours we had to wait before the doors opened making bracelets (he brought the supplies), running to the toilets hoping the doors wouldn't open in the time we were gone, and chatting with the people around us. And let me tell you: the queue was about as wholesome as they get. Friendship bracelets were exchanged all around us, food and drinks were being shared left and right, at one point we started a singalong to Love Story.

The doors opened at around 4 PM, so we (slowly...) rushed onto the pitch and "claimed" our spot about 3 meters from the barrier separating the audience and the stage. Prime spots near the middle of the elaborate stage setup which is where Taylor would spend most of her time performing. At least, that's what my friend told me.

Paramore (yes, that Paramore!) opened the show and they absolutely rocked it! I would've gladly gone to a show where they were the headliners to see them perform a longer set, but this was fantastic as it was as well. I've wanted to see Paramore live for a while now. Partly just to make my sister jealous. After about half an hour they got off stage and 15 minutes later Taylor's set started.

And... wow. She dominates the stage and does this 3-hour long set seemingly without effort. At times I had to genuinely ground myself to realize I was looking at the real-life Taylor Swift. This is what an artist in their prime looks like. Each of the "eras" in her music were visualized brilliantly with the outfits (so many outfit changes!), the stage design, and the incredible backup singers and dancers.

Once the show was over, the nearly 60,000 people in the arena flocked out and slowly but surely spread out over the city. My friend and I met up with his sister at a fast food place somewhat near the arena that wasn't too busy and chatted until about 1 AM. Once I was back at the hotel, I spent some time going through the photos and videos I took in bed and fell asleep satisfied with my exceptional experience.

I couldn't possibly pick favorites from this show. Everything was perfect.