Of course, the biggest change between the first and last Eras shows is the entire section that was added to accommodate it The Tortured Poets Departmentreleased in April between legs of the tour. Aside from rearranging the Eras setlist (like folklore And Always is squeezed into one segment and certain songs are deleted from other eras) and showcases some of the strongest material from Swift’s latest work, the poet The section adds extra weight to the back half of the show, the drama heightened by the chewy pop in between 1989 and the intimate power of surprise songs.

Similar The Tortured Poets Department Tracks like “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” “Down Bad” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” reiterated Swift’s confessional songwriting style through arena-sized explorations of vulnerabilities. offer lyrical tones and sonic aesthetics not present in other eras of the show. Swift’s latest album was well received by fans and divided critics. No matter where you place it in the Swift catalog, its placement on the Eras show sparked different, important emotions each night.

When the Eras tour began in March 2023 with “Cruel Summer” as the first song played in its entirety, the lover “Standout” was the no-brainer that never was, as the planned 2020 Lover Fests were canceled due to the pandemic and Swift moved on folklore before the song received a full radio push. Today, “Cruel Summer” is one of the biggest chart hits of Swift’s career thanks to its revival in 2023, which propelled the single to the top of the Hot 100 and made the anthem belatedly ubiquitous.

In the year and nine months that the Eras tour ran, Swift’s discography changed in large and small ways: the set closer “Karma,” for example, had not yet become a big hit midnight at the beginning of the tour, but now triggers even louder singing along towards the end of the performance. Meanwhile, “August” was a fan favorite folklore It’s already gone viral every summer, but now the song is the most distinctive moment of this era of the show, a moment of melancholy that has grown in significance.

And the audience also noticed the subtle changes. At the start of the tour, some fans shouted, “1, 2, 3, let’s go, bitch!” as the beat of “Delicate” started. Now? There might as well have been a teleprompter at BC Place Stadium – every Swiftie in attendance knew that countdown like the back of their hand clutching their friendship bracelet.

When the tour began, the first three eras of the show were lover, Fearless And Always. With the addition of The Tortured Poets Department However, this order has been changed in this section Always was combined with that folklore Songs and later joined the show, and Red was moved up to third place.

That makes sense on paper, but live, the revamped show enjoyed one hit after another from the start, with “Cruel Summer,” “You Need To Calm Down,” “You Belong With Me,” “Love Story” and “We Are”. “Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “All Too Well” all played within the first hour or so. Of course, the first three sections of the show were followed by more big hits, but the range of opening songs, which even casual Swift fans know by heart, gave the opening act more seriousness and made the Eras show seem even more of a stadium spectacle.

Many attendees were dressed to the nines for the opening show of the Eras tour and friendship bracelets were exchanged in Glendale in March 2023 – but the evolution of the fan experience from the first to the last show of the tour was undeniable. Sure, the outfits were more than ubiquitous in Vancouver (if you didn’t dress up at all without wearing a sequin or glitter stitch, you stood out like a sore thumb) and edgy even by the standards of internet galleries from best-dressed concertgoers (a fan was dressed up as a “F-ck The Patriarchy” keychain and another embodied an entire Christmas tree farm).

But the widespread sense of togetherness was more palpable throughout the evening, from the photos taken outside the stadium entrance before the show to the breathless conversations on the way out of the stadium hours later. Anyone who paid attention to the audience throughout the evening could not only see bracelets being swapped for full beaded sleeves, but also compliments on outfit choices, discussions about favorite songs and eras, and sing-alongs to pre-show tracks (Lady Gaga’s “Applause”). was once again a huge success), children and parents bonded over their merch selection.

Every aspect of the fan experience had improved over the course of the Eras run, but it was largely driven by the fans themselves. As Swift put it in the middle of the last show, “You’ve created such a space of joy, togetherness and love.”

In March 2023, Travis Kelce was simply a star tight end on an NFL team that had just won the Super Bowl. Now, more than a year after he and Swift started dating, he is unwittingly the patron saint of the Eras Tour, as evidenced by the legions of audience members wearing Kansas City Chiefs garb at the latest show.

Of course, Kelce gear was the top choice for dads in attendance who wanted to dress up for the Eras Tour but would rather grab a soccer jersey than a sparkly outfit. And a few hours after the Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers in Kansas City on Sunday night, Swift nodded to her friend during the closing line “Karma” and sang, “Karma is the guy from the Chiefs/ Coming straight home to me!”

Every stadium show will iron out a few details over time, and the Eras Tour started last year as a well-oiled beast that would naturally evolve in small increments. But hundreds of shows and millions of satisfied customers later, the Eras show contained a deeper belief in Swift and her dancers that manifested itself beyond maximizing set pieces and hitting points more cleanly.

Compared to the start of the tour, Swift made room for little giddiness — she performed a spirited spin after the opening verse of “Fearless” and skipped down the stage during the final chorus of “Delicate” — that signaled: She’s perfected this tour, having every moment the 195-minute running time is nailed down, and now she can have a little more fun pushing the boundaries. Her dancers’ nervousness had also long since disappeared, and there was a looseness to their performances that made them more appealing to the audience.

At the first Eras show, Swift described feeling “really overwhelmed and trying to make it through the night.” An understandable feeling at the end of a roller coaster ride – but the trust that developed after that long run together undoubtedly made Swift and her team feel more comfortable with each night, and that shared security ultimately enhanced the show.

At the start of the last Eras performance, Swift described the tour as “the most exciting, powerful, electrifying, intense and challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life.” When the tour started last year, no one, including Swift, knew for sure. what it would mean for her career. Today it is considered one of their greatest achievements, the kind of epic live performance that seems impossible to repeat and will be talked about for years to come.

Unlike the crowd on the tour’s opening night, many fans entering BC Place Stadium on Sunday night knew about the entire set list and era order, about fan cues and when to plan for a bathroom break acoustic event not to be missed. They were also aware of the massive legacy of the Eras tour and what Swift has achieved in the last two years. This knowledge made the evening all the more impressive – but it was certainly not limited to the last Eras show.

As the tour progressed and her legend grew, participants subtly understood their place in Swift’s dominant run, what it meant to be in the audience, and how they would likely remember the experience for a long time. When the Eras tour began, Swifties didn’t really know what to expect. When it was over, they knew they had seen history.