What I am about to say will probably have thousands of Swifties screaming, crying, and ready to legitimately fight me, but here it goes: I worked at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour in Sydney, meaning I not only got to see Taylor perform for free but I actually got paid to be there.
For those of you who were lucky enough to get tickets, remember those people in the bright orange shirts checking your tickets and ushering you to your seats? I was one of those - and a lucky one at that. For three nights at Accor Stadium, my job was to walk around the floor, next to the stage, while Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter were performing.
To preface, I am personally not a die-hard Swiftie, but I do love a lot of her music (I am also slightly in love with Sabrina Carpenter, but who isn’t?). I did not personally battle the monstrous Ticketek queue trying to get seats - although I do know what a traumatic experience it was from friends who did - so when I was offered three shifts to work across the Eras Tour weekend, I was more than happy to accept.
There is a lot to be said about the Eras Tour, especially from the perspective of a staff member, but I’ll start with the most important - 1. Taylor Swift has one of the sweetest, most wholesome (if not sometimes slightly over-immersed) fanbases ever, and 2. three and a half hours is a very, VERY long time.
Out of all the concerts I’ve worked at, the Eras Tour had the nicest, sweetest, and most manageable crowd. From the childhood fans to the Swiftie dads with their kids, and everyone in between, there were almost no issues (which is absolutely unheard of) and it truly felt like everyone was just there because of their love for Taylor Swift and her music. I did also manage to get a collection of friendship bracelets, and a huge shoutout to everyone who included the staff members in their trading because it really made our nights. Additionally, of any show I’ve worked on, Taylor Swift fans screamed, cried, and showed their overall love and admiration the most (sometimes through uncontrollable tears) - but I have nothing but respect for the extreme love and dedication Swifties have.
In terms of the concert itself, the staff are not actually allowed to watch most of the concert, which is frustrating when Taylor Swift is literally right behind you and you have to keep your back turned. But from what I could hear (and caught a sneak peek of when my manager wasn’t watching), Taylor in person, sounds exactly like her studio recordings. I almost couldn’t tell that she was singing live, especially when her voice sounded just as stable after three and a half hours of non-stop performing.
My favourite eras (the only two I knew all the words to) were undoubtedly 1989 and Red, and it seemed like most of the crowd agreed. I was surprised that they were both played towards the middle of the setlist when 1989 especially would have made for an incredible ending. Having Midnights as the finale didn’t really hit that hard for me personally, despite it being her most recent album, but perhaps more dedicated Swifties would disagree with me on that.
What shocked me the most was how much I enjoyed the Reputation era. This might be slightly controversial, but I have never been a huge fan of the Reputation album, maybe because the child in me still kind of sees it as when the old Taylor died, but the energy she and the crowd brought during the songs was out of this world. The outfit, the performance, the set, and the spotlights projected into the sky during “Don’t Blame Me” - Reputation was definitely the biggest-scale, highest-energy set of the night, and a much-needed break from the softer eras like Folklore and Evermore.
A special mention has to go to Taylor’s performance of “Vigilante Shit” during the Midnights era, a song which I will admit I had never heard before the concert, but I have had on repeat ever since. I didn’t realise that Taylor had this kind of dark, more mature performance style in her, but she absolutely nailed it - and looked phenomenal doing it! Her impressive range as an artist and a performer really shone through in the concert, and I have definitely gained more respect for her after witnessing just how many different concepts she pulled off.
I can undoubtedly see how the Eras Tour would be every Swiftie's dream come true - a journey “spanning almost 18 years of music”, as Taylor said herself, that just as much hits home for longtime fans as it does for casual listeners. I cannot think of any other artist who has achieved as much in their career as Taylor Swift has, and a three-and-a-half-hour performance divided into each iconic era (albeit in a slightly random order) is truly something very few could do with quite the same cultural, and emotional, impact.
Overall, the Eras Tour had incredible music, an amazing crowd, and ultimately an impeccable vibe. I will say that I was utterly shattered and drained after three nights of it, and it is completely awe-inspiring that Taylor Swift manages to perform for so long day after day after day. But, even though I was exhausted, I am so glad that I took those three shifts, and allowed the childhood Swiftie in me to fully live out her Wildest Dreams!
