Hi everyone! I can’t believe I was actually at the Reputation concert over this past weekend! I did go to the Chicago concert at Soldier Field on Saturday, June 2nd, aka the second (but first to go on sale) performance in the Windy City. Earlier that day I’d also been at the Museum of Science and Industry so it was quite a day! (If you want to hear all about the museum let me know, I can do a post on that too.)

I have to admit, I had had a headache for a few hours at that point so I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the concert. It was also supposed to storm towards the end of the concert so I was worried it’d ruin it. But spoiler, it didn’t!

So Soldier Field’s doors opened at 5pm and since the concert didn’t start until about 7pm my sister and I didn’t arrive until about 6. I expected it to be much harder to get in (because of lines and security) and to find our seats. Ticketmaster and the tour organizers had already sent emails about the bag policy and the tickets. So the stadium doesn’t allow for bags unless it’s a small clutch or a clear bag. I put my items in a small handheld wallet and put that in my jacket pocket. My sister did the same and luckily so did everyone else so security was a breeze. It was a steady slow walk through the entire process until we had to scan tickets. The tickets were mobile only so of course the screens were finicky but in the end everything was fine and it was only a slight wait. We also got white wristbands and told they would be for the concert later.

Once inside my sister and I found our entrance for our seats and then went to the bathroom. Again, we expected long lines and it was only a slight wait! So we then went back upstairs and found our seats.

While waiting I noticed that there was a huge age range for everyone in the stands. There were 20 somethings like us, young children, teens, parents, and even grandparents. I was surprised as I’d expected only younger people but that was nice.

I was also surprised at how good our seats were. I had expected them to be farther but the stage was so large that it still felt pretty good. I mean, still far because I didn’t really splurge (something I regret now) but it wasn’t as bad as I expected! In addition to the huge stage at the end of the stadium there were also two “B” stages further down the stadium. I was in section 338, row 13, seats 3 and 4 I believe so they were towards the back of the section and towards the left of the row.

So once it got to 7pm I noticed that there was not a lot of people in the stadium yet. I was really confused and then realized that people were probably skipping the openers which was quite sad considering how amazing they were.

First up was Charli XCX was first and I realized that even though I didn’t know who she was exactly that I did know her music. She did 7 songs, among them were “Boom Clap”, “I Love It”, and a cover of Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”. I absolutely loved those three, even though “Fancy” usually annoys me. She performed for about half an hour and she was so fun to watch. I listened to her Spotify artist playlist earlier today at work because of how great her performance was at the concert. Then there was about a fifteen minute break for tear down and set for the next act!

Next was Camila Cabello, whom I adore. (I have her CD in my car. Yes, my car only takes CDs. He’s a 2010, and I love him anyway.) She did 9 songs, and had 2 dance breaks. Among her songs my favorites were “Never Be the Same”, “She Loves Control”, “Consequences”, and “Havana”. Her keyboard rendition of “Consequences” was probably my top one but it’s really hard to pick as they were all amazing. She also did a pretty and short cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love”. I think she was on stage for 45-60 minutes before she was done performing. I think her dancing was amazing and had a really fun performance. I really enjoyed every moment of her time on stage.

I didn’t take any videos of anything since I didn’t want to be staring at the concert through my phone. I wanted to see what was happening! But as you can see I did take a few photos. So in between Camila and Taylor there were a few videos being played and during this time the screen explained that we needed to pull out the plastic tab of our wristbands and the young woman next to my sister explained that they would be synced up to the performance so they would all light up together. This break was a little longer, about half an hour, probably because of the videos. It really didn’t feel that long though but it was chilly as it was on the waterfront of Lake Michigan so 60 degrees and windy is not a fun combination. Unless you’re about to see Taylor perform. Then it doesn’t matter!

Look! My sister took selfie with meeeee! She’s adorable AND the best sister ever since she agreed to go with me. Well, I mean it was free for her because my friend had to drop out and I already bought two but I would have totally taken her anyway. I was under the impression she didn’t like Taylor anymore (she was a fan since her early country days, so even longer than me) but luckily I was wrong. Anyway, she’s a great concert buddy and I’m going to try and drag her to the next one too. (Sorry not sorry sister.)

So Taylor’s performance was made up of nineteen songs. She did almost every song from her Reputation album and at least one from her previous albums. I was pretty much overwhelmed by excitement and disbelief that I was actually at a Taylor Swift concert for much of the first portion, not going to lie. This was actually my first big concert like this. I have been to smaller concerts and to musicals but never anything like this.

I’ll leave out the extra videos as this is already quite long. So for the first song she came out onstage with “…Ready for It?” followed by “I Did Something Bad”, “Gorgeous” and then a compilation of “Style/Love Story/ You Belong With Me”. (I’m looking up the setlist online because I’m sure I would get the order wrong otherwise.) It was a great, high energy start that immediately got the entire stadium up on their feet.

The next group of songs were “Look What You Made Me Do”, “End Game” and “King of My Heart”. She brought out an actual tilted stage during this part and there was a giant inflatable snake that appeared as well. I absolutely loved it. Again, there was a lot of energy here but the additions onstage really stepped it up. These three songs are also some of my favorites from her album so I had a blast during this part. I believe it was also during this part when Taylor gave a really great speech about Pride month and provided words of support to those celebrating openly and anyone who wasn’t there on their journey just yet. It was clear that the audience really appreciated the message and her words.

After this, Taylor was strapped into a sort of carrier that transported her across to one of the “B” stages, the one closer to me. From there she performed “Delicate”, “Shake It Off”, “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”, and her surprise song “22”. During “Shake It Off” both Charli XCX and Camila Cabello came out and performed with her, which was so incredible to see. They really looked to be having a blast onstage and enjoying every moment of it. The acoustic songs were “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” as well as “22”. The audience was absolutely thrilled about “22” and I remembered how sad I had been to be turning 23 a few years ago (okay maybe more than a few) when my sister said “oh, now I can’t sing ’22’ to you anymore”. Yup, she used to do that. *Sobs.* She’s a great sister. Anyway, this section was super cute and sweet and I really loved seeing the three amazing women onstage together. I also liked the acoustic portion since I’m trying to learn guitar and now I have a reason to learn the cords, as that’s what Taylor was doing. She’s a true inspiration, I’m telling ya.

Oh there, were more inflatable snakes at this point and I loved them even more. I think I suddenly like (fake) snakes now.

After this, she went across the blocked off walkway to the other “B” stage on the other side of the stadium. Oh, you can also see the lights from all the wristbands! They did light up based on the songs. For the entire first song they were red only, but they were blue for “I Did Something Bad” (I think, I could be remembering wrong) and then they were pink for “Love Story”. There were also purples, greens, and other colors, they would blink in unison or certain ones would be different colors, and so on. It was really beautiful to see.

During the performances there were also fireworks and then streams of fire shot up in the air from the stage. It looked really cool! The fire was so hot that I could feel the blast of it all the way from my seat. The “B” stages also had fireworks as well and at one point the mainstage had confetti all over it.

Back to the songs. At the other “B” stage Taylor performed “Blank Space”, “Dress”, and “Bad Blood/Should’ve Said No”. Both “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood” are among my favorites as well, and I am so sad I no longer have my 1989 album. I lost it when I was in a car accident and the battery was cut as the front end of my old car was smoking so I couldn’t get the cd out when I went to get everything out of my car. I’ve considered repurchasing it for a long time but never have so I might try to find a used copy online to buy as I do miss it. At this point Taylor wasn’t wearing a dress but one magically appeared on her for “Dress” and then disappeared again after. At the end of this round she was strapped into a snake rib cage sort of thing and flown back to the mainstage. Think something along the lines of Glinda’s bubble from Wicked but more boney rather than soapy.

Back at the mainstage Taylor performed “Don’t Blame Me” which is potentially my favorite song of hers from all her albums but again, it’s so hard to decide! She gave such a powerful performance and it was clear she was giving her all. At this point she also said that the crowd was one of her favorites (although I’m sure she says this to every crowd) and said that when she imagined performing back in the pre-fame days that she imagined a crowd like the Chicago one on night two. That was so sweet of her to say! Around this time my sister said she felt a rain drop so I replied with our high school track coach’s usual response when someone said they felt rain “no, that was my spit”. Alas, it was not and just before Taylor started to perform “Long Live/New Year’s Day” it really started coming down. Taylor took it all in stride saying, “Oh! It’s raining!” and proceeded to play the piano. Looking back this was the best time for the rain to start. It made the performance all the more melancholy for this portion.

To close out the show Taylor did three more songs. The first of which was “Getaway Car”, again perfect with the rain. She did take off her jacket which concerned me as I was thinking she was going to get sick. Hopefully not. While the rain may have bothered some people I really think it enhanced the show, bringing a whole new level of excitement into it. Taylor herself seemed to really love it, which really translated through her performance. She then proceeded to sing “Call It What You Want” from a fountain that had appeared onstage. And to finish off the concert she did “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together/This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” which were amazing closing songs. The screens behind her resembled a mansion that was essentially destroyed as she sang and it was so fun to watch.

Once that was done Taylor and the dancers did a bow and then everyone in the stadium started to find their way out. My sister and I ended up keeping our wristbands on accident because there was a huge bottleneck at the gates to leave because people were stopping to take off their wristbands and put them back in the containers. We didn’t realize until it was too late and didn’t want to hold up the crowd even more trying to get to them and leave them. I eventually made us take them off because it was pretty much a glowing alert to everyone that we had been at the concert so it might be a good time to try to rob us or something (I work in event planning and there’s a rule that you have to remove your name badge before leaving the building as it’s also a giant “I’m almost certainly from out of town and have no idea what’s going on because I’m distracted by this event” sign). It’s still flashing red so I feel so bad for it but it’s still very pretty.

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So that’s my incredibly long review (well more like a long-winded summary with a bit of review) of the second Chicago show on Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour! The concert was recorded apparently so there was buzz on social media that it might have been recorded either for a DVD later this year or some sort of tour documentary. Either way, I’m planning on getting it.

Did you see one of the previous stops of the tour or are you going to an upcoming one? If you’re going to an upcoming one, you’re in for a treat! Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

Pamela

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