Live Review: Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour – The Final Concert in Sydney, Australia
26 February 2024 at Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia
Review by Sheldon Ang
Photography by TAS Rights Management
7:30PM.
The hand of time sweeps across the face of the gigantic clock, sparking the two-minute countdown. The visceral cognition kicks in, as the inexorable flow of tears streamed through the surfaces of euphoria, manifesting from years of fanship. The screams are amplified by the second, drowning the recorded track of Lesley Gore’s 1963 classic, You Don’t Own Me.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
The largest stadium of the harbour city erupts.
85,000 fans dive into a maniacal thrust, with decibels piercing to an equivalent of an afterburner. The stage dancers grace the runway like a samba parade in Rio but with the elegance of graceful swans in a showcase of poised flamboyance, while holding 15 feet of silky sheets resembling butterfly wings.
The realisation is blurred in a dreamy state of joy, happiness, and hysteria as the eclectic state of mind fused and manifest into vocal outbursts as the anticipation bloomed; and there she was, the fiery silk unmasked the world’s most influential popstar, rockstar, celebrity or person of any industry.
The sense of hologram-like, mental illusion speared from the conscious minds of 85,000 – the fact that we have visual on Taylor Swift is overwhelming. She opens with Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince from the 2019 album Lover on a raised platform.
She poses for the front page, flexing her muscle, and kissing her biceps, a statuesque allegory as she absorbs the energy fuelled by the fans, glittered by the battery powered wrist bands of thematic colours, drawing a visual 360 spectacle of the third kind.
“Sydney…let’s do this.”
And so she points at one end of Accor Stadium, the crowd scream. She points in the other direction, the same effect ensues.
If you’re reading this article in the year 2090 and beyond, we have no doubt that Taylor Swift remains as the symbol of mega popstar, akin to The Beatles, Elvis and Michael Jackson as musical folklores in the present year of 2024. So, it’s our privilege to narrate the final evening of the three and a half-hour love story of The Eras Tour through the five senses of over six hundred thousand Aussie Swifties. We joined the millions across the world who sang and danced to heartbreak, triumph, transcendence and empowerment, projected by the most influential entertainer, in history – and that’s a statistical fact.
Alas for those who had missed out, as The Eras Tour is unstoppable, storming across the world from Singapore to Seattle, London to Tokyo, engulfing every city with delirium by the virtue of Taylor Swift’s presence as ticketing frenzies were unprecedented. Upon reclaiming Australia again since 2018, the phenomenal scale of catalytic euphoria spread unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Cities turned into gold – economically and affordability; GDP increased by several hundred million while hotels and flights were doubled and trebled in booking costs within the touring dates. To put her level of influence into further perspective, an inset clip of Travis Kelce’s solo arrival into Sydney on Taylor’s private jet was broadcasted live – while news on an asbestos incident were read on the morning news.
Tonight’s account is based on the last show of her Australian tour, in Sydney, Australia…
We will not dwell each track on her setlist, as it has been engraved for a while bar two surprised songs, but Cruel Summer, coming in as second is one of this writer’s favourite songs by anyone. Very rarely do artists performed one of their giants this early in the setlist – but such is the depth of Taylor’s discography. The satisfying explosive crescendo, “He looks up grinning like a devil!” echoed across the stadium, backed by the biggest chant by the self-appointed back up vocalists of 85,000 from the floor to the upper tiers of Accor Stadium.
“Sydney, welcome to The Era’s Tour. Here we are, it our final night for it – we have saved all of our energy for tonight. We have had the most wonderful time. We’re about to take a little adventure together you and I…we’re taking an adventure through the last eighteen years of music, we’re doing one Era at a time, how does that sound to you…my name is Taylor Swift.”
By now 85,000 fans became besties with one another, individuals from various race, creed and cultural background of all ages from other parts of Australia and world embracing in solidarity through the power unity of Taylor Swift.
You Need To Calm Down brought the vocals down to a lower register, but the fans ain’t doing that. The bassline of the track drove deep onto the grounds and resonate under the feet, sending chills across the stadium from the chicness, embolden and coolness of Taylor Swift who was draped in this track in a business, glittery top suit from the wardrobe of a superstar. The chilled tempo continued through the track title Lover, oozing a darling-esque performance.
From pop to country, the fans landed on the Fearless era of 2008 – the time machine that introduced Taylor Swift as a global artist through her country roots. Then came the change in outfit to a sparkly gold. You Belong With Me was the sing along song for the over thirties, soaking into the nostalgia and singing with the uppermost gusto. Love Story – the seminal piece for so many – the breakthrough from the cloud nebulae where stars are born. Some might have expected for Taylor Swift to cast a country-esque repertoire but that wasn’t the case, as she poised for a striking concoction of dazzle and swagger, backed by colourful dancers.
The sixteen-year-olds from the class of 2008 are now thirty. Some are married, some are with their daughters and sons. The intergenerational batons have made their way between parents and children. Mothers and fathers became besties with their daughters and nieces through the common denominator of music influence of Taylor Swift, as they sang the hooks and crescendos that became the anthems of their lives.
“I tend to sort of look back at the albums…and I love them so much because they remind me of how you guys encouraged me through the years. Every time I took a little risk, you guys like give me the thumbs up and like ‘we like that’, rather than ‘no, do the same thing’, over and over again, ‘we like the same thing.’ You could have done that…but it encouraged me to grow, that’s why like the creative experiment. That’s why I felt emboldened enough to make 1989, Reputation…so thank you so much for encouraging me and to take risk…and it takes a lot of trust.”
Taylor is not just a popstar. She’s a musician. Three Eras in and fans are tranced by the choreography, prop and storyline that are fitting to the thematic substance of each album. The connection with the audience is palpable to the story carved from each era, from the props to the dance choreography and the outfits.
From guitar hero in shiny, sparkly leotard to elegant green dress, she took to the piano with hits such as Champagne Problems, through several gears down within evermore, joining the likes of willow, Marjorie and tolerate it, the ballad for the broken hearts. It was surreal to cast our eyes on Taylor Swift in a dress on stage that’s fitting for the red carpet. After evermore was done, the stadium darkened…
Computerised snakes appeared on the massive screen. Jumbo jet-like decibel pierced through Accor Stadium as fans anticipated for Reputation. Ready for It? Those three words – the “Jesus wept” of the pop world. For the fans of Taylor Swift, Reputation sealed Taylor Swift as the undisputed queen of the world, drawing a legion of new followers. The gusto was raised by several levels, her movements were sharp and edgy, as she zest her way through the likes of Delicate, Don’t Blame Me and Look What You Made Me Do.
Taylor’s visceral instinct to churn female experience into an addictive hook and melody truly shine on stage through the thematic props, dance and choreography such as what we’ve seen on Reputation. She absorbed the energy from the audience and reflected the relatability factor to an en masse level. One stare, screams strike, creating an echo chamber.
“I tend to gravitate towards writing personal songs…has anyone noticed that? My songs is about my own life and is very ‘dear diary’. I wrote during the pandemic. I really wanted to escape to those stories and for the characters to fall in love and break up and fuel feelings …”
Every moment was a peak, but as subjective as it may be the best for some was reserved for the 1989 chapter. Style kicked off, splashing the bravado and je ne sais quoi with Blank Space. The 1980’s catchiness of the melody was once again carried by the 85,000 fans from Magic, madness, heaven, sin to the iconic line nightmare dressed like a daydream. The number 1 hit dethroned fellow 1989 breakthrough song mate Shake It Off – where she performed at the end of the runway. Her animation, body movements choreography were fitting to the lyrics – with edge and confidence, including the shaking of her hips during one of the best known choruses of the 21st century. She was joined by ten dancers at the end of the runway with a fun filled choreography. Just like the studio version, the intensity grew as the performance went on. So did the vocals of the 85,000. Bad Blood – a track about betrayal of a close friend was performed with a defiant attitude.
As for this writer, the performance of the 1989 chapter was the Everest among the Himalayan peaks of The Eras Tour settlist.
Midnight is here. From Lavender Haze to Anti Hero and ending with Karma. The stage was filled with dancers in glittery diamond, and after 3.5 hours and 7 shows, Taylor had still the bounce and zest to the final breath of her Australian tour, as fireworks and lights shot from ground zero to the heavens.
Australia have witnessed the cries of beautiful hysteria that swept across two of Australia’s biggest stadiums in seven nights over two weekends. Like an iceberg below the waterline, those on the beggars list to the golden ticket far outstripped the combined capacity of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney’s Accor Stadium by 3.5 million. If only The Eras Tour had set up camp in Australia for fifty stadium shows, less hearts wouldn’t have been broken. More tears would have been saved. That’d be fifty shows across the colossal MCG, Accor and let’s fantasize at the majestic Optus Stadium, Perth as hosting The Eras Tour – because that’s where we’re based in!
Tonight, in the last performance of her Australian tour, we have seen before our own eyes to why “Taylor Swift” is mused with lonely words such as the world’s biggest, best, first and most. The Eras Tour is the world’s biggest, the first to generate over one billion in revenue. As for the six hundred thousand Swifties and the part curious in Australia, they have witnessed the colossal concert of our time. The justification of her accolades were sealed forever in musical folklore.
History was signed, sealed and delivered in Australia. The lady from Pennsylvania oozes a succulent divinity, one of grace, power, talent, strength, intelligence and wit – fused into the ultimate showbiz of the ages. This is Taylor Swift. She’s phenomenal. Unstoppable. The most influential person on the planet, extending her empowerment by becoming 2023 Time Magazine Person of the Year.
Well, we think she’s the artist of the 21st century.
Thank you for the memory, Taylor Swift.
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Frontier Touring and Taylor Swift for the media invite.
About the Writer: Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) have been accredited to photograph and review over 80 of the hottest acts in Perth including Coldplay, KISS, Fridayz Live, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink 182 and Lizzo with reviews shared by the likes of UB40, Delta Goodrem and Toni Childs on social media. He has interviewed rockers Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) and over forty legends.
