Do you ever have one of those experiences where you want to remember exactly how you felt? That’s how I feel about my experience at the Taylor Swift concert this weekend. Correction: At the Eras Tour. Saying it was a concert does not feel like enough to justify the magnitude of the event.
Let’s talk about the details… you might remember that I went to the Reputation tour with my niece 5 years ago at Mile High. Before that concert (and being the cool aunt that I am), I listened to the Reputation album on repeat at work.. casually in my ears, while others buzzed around me with all sorts of technical talk. Until then, I had always thought TSwift was for the kids. Wow, was I ever wrong.
Fast forward five years…
We’ve lived through a pandemic. I’ve nestled myself completely in my forties, and leaned ever-so-slightly into my late forties. When news of the upcoming Eras Tour landed, I knew I wanted to go. I just had to be there. After all, I’d spent literal months listening to Folklore and Evermore on repeat. Different from Lover that also came out around that same time, there was a whimsical moodiness of F & E that made me swoon. Taylor’s first tour in years, I definitely wanted tickets.
I called my friend Erin to see if she wanted to join me, and of course, she said yes. Find yourself a friend like Erin. We tend to do events together… and when one of us wants to go, the other is a near-instant yes. I love our friendship, and that we don’t get together often, but when we do it’s for something spectacular!! Sidekick aligned, I signed up to be a Verified Fan and hoped for the best.
When I didn’t get a code, that was fine. When I heard about the Ticketmaster debacle, I decided to buy a pair of tickets my friend Pyper had on hand. The thought of sitting in a queue all day on the upcoming Friday sounded awful, and I chose the easy route. As the entire ticketing process fell apart in the days that followed, I’ve never been so relieved about my personal laziness.
And then, we waited. Tickets were purchased in November for a show in July…. that gives you plenty of time to obsess about what to wear, to plan a staycation downtown around the show, and naturally, to make a million friendship bracelets and send them to your favorite Swifties around the country.
“Two Days” Prior to the Show
I decided to take a day off. I was exhausted and wanted to be fresh to see my girl TayTay in concert. After a quick brunch with some out-of-town Swifties, my plan was a full afternoon of beauty in preparation for the next day.
Chipped nails would be resolved, pasty skin would be bronzed, and a makeup tutorial would be had. The girliest night of the year was 24 hours away…. or so I thought.
Pyper transferred tickets to me on Friday morning. Having just changed my password to “something more secure”, I naturally locked myself out of the site. Terrible timing for the day before a concert, and I was thrilled when I got that squared away. Tickets in hand, I knew a sneaker decision needed to be made and I had the whole afternoon to compare and contrast.
Around 4pm I got a text from Pyper who mentioned that “the train was a scene.” Weird. Pyper being quite a bit younger (and more adventurous) than I am, I thought… that’s weird, why would she go downtown if she didn’t have to…. WAIT
AND IN THAT MOMENT, I KNEW.
I pulled up the Ticketmaster app to find a one and a four staring back at me. One Four. Fourteen. My tickets were for July 14th, not July 15th!
In a full-blown panic, I called Erin about 3 times to let her know about the mix-up. No answer. So, I started getting ready. In order to get downtown (alongside 73K other Swifties on the same journey), I knew I needed to leave within the next hour. I had no idea how I was going to get there, but I was not missing this event that we had been preparing for the past 8 months!
I added some red lipstick and quickly got dressed for the show. Without time for a full fashion show, I opted for the skirt and blouse combo I’d found at Target and this butterfly belt I’d picked up that morning. I left my room in absolute shambles, knowing I would have the whole weekend to deal with it…
Remember earlier when I said we should all be as lucky to have a friend like Erin? When she learned the news, she quickly got dressed, packed some snacks for the train, and even figured out which train I needed to get on to make it to Union Station to transfer to the line that took me to the concert.
One of the funniest things to happen? I picked up a work call while I was hurrying up to get ready. The consultant who called had SO MUCH INFORMATION HE WANTED TO SHARE. Do you ever have this happen? When someone calls at the very wrong time, and they absolutely had no idea? He had so much to say that I literally had to sit down to take notes. When he wanted to talk in depth about our solution, I had to break the news to him that I had to go to the concert. Did it stop him from sharing more information? Absolutely not… hilarious to look back on, and I am definitely calling him tomorrow to apologize.
Meanwhile, I had a concert to get to!!! Actual footage of me running to the train…
Sweaty, excited to see one another, and ready for the adventure that lied ahead, we connected at Mile High and headed in to find our seats to rock out to Taylor Swift with 73,000 of our new Swifty besties.
To be continued in Part II… click here