How will The Eras Tour end?
Here on December 6, 2024, on a Friday night in Vancouver — home of the last three shows of the Taylor Swift Eras (#150-152, for those counting) — we're among about 60,000 kindred spirits at BC Place.
“You and I, we're going on a little adventure,” Swift, in a bedazzled blue and gold Lover bodysuit, tease the crowd. “This adventure will span 18 years of music and we will do this one season at a time. How does that sound to you, Vancouver?'
Professional camera setups and operators running behind the star on stage show that this event is professionally filmed. The Jumbotron is high above the middle of the floor. It shows a stream that focuses only on Swift, so those further back or on the upper levels can see her framed in close-up and take in the spectacle of the whole scene. Some ticket buyers have shelled out as little as $16 CAD for late-release “no-view” seats that turn out to be better than we imagined, with glimpses of the diamond or the Eras final stage, plus screens to watch.
There is someone crying behind me. There is joy and sadness in the air when at this concert you know this is it.
Swift seems to feel that way, too, with a twinkling look when she pauses to join the crowd for an extended moment after “Champagne Trouble.” He has used the word “dream” to describe his time Folklore and Foreverand recent captions on her Instagram posts and tour book. From her perspective tonight, that's how it must feel: surreal, even 630 days after the debut of The Eras Tour.
These were the highlights from the first of three dates in Vancouver, the beginning of the end (of Swift's Eras Tour), from someone who can compare seeing the tour in 2023 with 2024.
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The city is… Ready for it
Was a city more ready for The Eras Tour than Vancouver before Swift's final three shows on The Eras Tour?
The landmark Gastown steam clock changed its sound to play “Shake It Off” every 15 minutes, the first time in history that the clock's sound has ever changed.
'Tis the damn season: There are 13 Swift-themed signs popping up around Vancouver, or Swiftcoverfor fans to discover as they explore the city. Visitors can see titles such as “Anti-Hero,” “Down Bad,” “Style,” “Willow,” and “ME!” lit up like holiday decorations. “Lover” glows pink.
My hotel (and probably others in town) played Swift music videos in the elevator and greeted guests with friendship bracelets, and businesses in the area could be heard from the street playing her songs. They even asked me about the show, and my tickets, when I went through customs to get here.
The Capilano Suspension Bridge turned the annual Canyon Lights into a Swift wonderland for the weekend by transforming it into a giant friendship bracelet. A giant friendship bracelet also hangs in the concert venue, BC Place.
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B.C. The place is the place to be
The Eras Tour is designed in a way that makes each section of seating in the stadium special in its own way. Swift actually uses the entire stage — the main stage, the catwalk, the diamond, and the final stage — throughout her performance, giving fans all over the floor a chance to see her right in front of them. Concertgoers in lower and upper level stadium seats have a better view of the immersive visual and lighting design intended for viewing, and can also watch the big screen to better see Swift's expression.
BC Place upgraded this already audience-friendly layout by also using the Jumbotron, an elevated central video board with screens on all sides. The lighting of the stadium, the circle of the venue and the timely projection with the music was also exciting. And although the roof was closed and some assumed this concert would have to bypass the production's fireworks, the stage and tour crew worked out a way to fit it safely into the show.
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On her feelings last Friday night
“This night is sure to be filled with so many different emotions, just for me, my band, my crew, my colleagues on stage, the dancers and everyone who has been with us and cared about this tour,” Swift said. crowd from the BC Place stage Friday night. “But right now, honestly, I feel very happy that we decided to spend our last shows in Vancouver. I love you very much. My face hurts from smiling.”
As the night drew to a close, he reiterated that message: “This was the best night of last Friday of the tour that I could have imagined with you guys,” he said during the show's closer. Midnight series.
This reminder of the tour's impending end may have left Swifties on X (formerly Twitter) asking if they were allowed to cry — but it was a sentiment that made those lucky enough to be in attendance feel like they were creating a key memory with Swift.
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The “All's Well” Journey continues
Having watched The Eras Tour near its beginning in the spring of 2023, and now at its end, it's interesting to see how “All Too Well” continues to feel slightly different as time goes on.
The 10-minute fan favorite that inspired a short film and is deeply rooted in Swift's mythology felt like a triumph when heard live in its entirety on the first dates of the tour. Now, in the last weekend of Eras, I feel that Swift has mastered the performance. There was a distinct confidence and more dexterity to Vancouver's “All Too Well,” with Swift often incorporating theatrical gestures to emphasize key lyrics and emotions throughout the song. As always, it's incredible to look around and see up to 60,000 people captivated by “All Too Well” — knowing all the words and feeding all the emotions of a dimensional pop song of this length.
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I'll make you a cabin in some tent
Although I saw The Eras Tour in the spring of 2023, I had a lot to experience with a whole new era being incorporated into the set in the fall of 2024. For example, seeing Folklore went on The Eras tour after Department of Tormented Poets added to the show took my mind into a whirl, connecting themes sprinkled throughout her discography.
Staying back and really owning the art design of the tour this time, I noted all the “homemade” visuals of all time: Lover home in its various iterations, the favorite Folklore cabin, the 'asylum where I was raised', the UFO that sends Swift up 'to send me back where I came from'.
Kevin Winter/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
“You have your share of beautiful, natural wildernesses and mystical forests, all of which are part of the fantasy world of Folklore,” Swift told the Vancouver locals in attendance, talking about the cabin's long journey on The Eras Tour.
There is peace in Folklore the roof of the cabin. During her performance of “Cardigan,” Swift now stands atop the cabin, looking up at a moonlit sky while singing about a love that's gone through stages (“I knew you'd come back to me”).
Meanwhile, during Department of Tormented Poets watched Swift under a UFO in the sky and thought of the bridge “Down Bad” (“I'll build you a fortress on some planet/ Where everyone can see”), bridging the idea of a protective fortress and that safe Folklore traveling cabin — as if it were built on some stage, where they can see it repeated.
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“Betty” Feels “So High School”
Another interesting parallel noted during the 2024 Eras held in Vancouver, after seeing the previous edition of the tour last year, is the corresponding “high school” vibe of the choreography Swift performs with her dancers at the end of Folkloreof “Betty” and during Department of Tormented Poets“So High School” later in the set. Although the songs differ from each other, they are both themed around those years of teenage romance. They are sweet, nostalgic moments to see live. Swift plays with youthful energy in both, grooving alongside her dancers who are huddled together like a group of classmates in high school bleachers.
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Surprise no. 1: “Haunted” and “Wonderland”
Swift welcomed Vancouver to her always-anticipated acoustic set, quickly admitting that the night's surprise song selection is “something I'm nervous about every night. I'm excited about it, but it's a challenge to see like, 'Are they going to like it? Will they like it? Will they like it?” I've been thinking about that all week.”
“We'll see how I do tonight with the selections,” she added, just before strolling on stage with her guitar and entering the Speak nowThe “Haunted”.
“Haunted” moved into “Wonderland,” but not before Swift explained why she just had to play it 1989 period piece this weekend: “I had to sing this next song sometime in Canada, e?”
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Surprise no. 2: “Never Grow Up” and “The Best Day”
The piano surprise of the night was very sweet and somewhat unexpected given all the song choices he has for the final weekend of The Eras Tour.
On the final Friday night of the tour, Swift got emotional with a live mashup Speak now“Never Grow Up” and Fearless“The best day.” A song is written from the perspective of someone who has grown up and doesn't wish it on anyone else. the other talks fondly of childhood memories. Both honor holding on to your inner child: “Oh my love, never grow up/ Never grow up/ It could stay so simple/ I won't let anyone hurt you/ I won't let not one break your heart/ And even though you have to/ Try to never grow up/ Oh, never grow up/ Oh, I had the best day with you today,” she sang.
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Vancouver Night 1 set list
Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
Tough summer
The Man
You need to calm down
Lover
Fearless
You Belong With Me
Love story
22
We Never Ever Get Back Together
I knew you were trouble
Very good (10 minute version)
Spellbound
…Ready for it?
Thin
Don't blame me
Look what you made me do
Cardigan
Betty
Champagne problems
August
Illegal Affairs
My Ricochet Tears
Marjorie
Willow
Style
Empty space
Shake it
The wildest dreams
Hatred
But daddy I love him / so High School
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
Down Bad
Fortnight
The smallest man who ever lived
I can do it with a broken heart
Haunted / Wonderland
Never Grow Up / The Best Day
Lavender Haze
Anti-hero
Vigilant Shit
Bejeweled
Brain
Karma
