Taylor Swift brought her Reputation Stadium Tour to Minneapolis over Labor Day weekend and it was hands down the best tour of her career that I’ve ever been to. Everything from the theatrics, to the choreography, visuals, storytelling and vocals were absolutely incredible. It was easily the best two concerts I’ve ever attended in my life and my favorite time seeing TS.
*** CONTAINS SHOW SPOILERS ***
NIGHT ONE:
On night one of her Rep Tour, my sister and I had center floor seats in row six. It was the most surreal experience. We have grown up listening to Taylor’s music and she’s been our all-time favorite artist since we were both little (I was about eight years old when I started listening to her and Abby was two!!!). Seeing her in person always brings back special memories and moments for us.
Being this close to Taylor was an absolute dream. After working hard and saving up for this show, I’m so happy we made our dreams come true. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t slightly tear up when she came on stage. It was amazing to see her production so closely and getting to dance the night away with my sister to her music on the floor under the lights, fireworks and confetti was enchanting.
Taylor shows always bring forth all things sparkly, glitter and sequin, so of course, I had to get in on the fun. I wore so much sequin to night one. My outfit was inspired by her 1989 Tour. I found this bomber jacket on Amazon and am obsessed. I paired it with a cute white tank and black leather snakeskin patterned skirt from Express and was concert ready.
If you’ve seen Taylor before, you know the level her shows are on. They are not just another Friday night gig–they’re like a full-on Broadway show and they’re excellent. She really brings her album to life and her songs make so much sense when you see the stories played out on stage. It’s the type of show that’ll have you in the audience completely engaged and wondering what might come next. The element of surprise had us in such awe and it was such an exciting feeling.
Taylor played a mix of old songs with new songs from her new album Reputation. She mashed a bunch of old songs together so fans could hear all of their favorites. The classic songs that I loved hearing include Style / Love Story / You Belong with Me, Shake It Off, Blank Space, Bad Blood / Should’ve Said No and Long Live / New Year’s Day (new).
The mashups were one of my favorite parts of the concert. The transitions between songs were seamless and she went back and forth from the songs in the mashups so beautifully. The most notable performance was Long Live / New Year’s Day. It was on the piano and was so pretty. Those are two of my favorite songs she has ever written lyrically.
All the new songs off Reputation were SO good live. She changed a few things up during the concert, which kept fans guessing. I love when artists do that. You think you know what’s going to happen next and then SURPRISE! It keeps getting better. Taylor has to release a live album of this tour once it ends.
NIGHT TWO:
On night two, my whole family came. I won tickets on the radio so my sister Abby and I sat lower level on one side of the stadium and my parents and brothers sat on the opposite side. It was so fun to be able to go together and hype them up before the concert. Like I predicted, they completely loved the show and now they’re Swifties.
Abby and I did sequins, glitter and sparkle galore again for night two. We wore adorable matching skirts from Express and paired them with Reputation Stadium Tour T-shirts and Adidas. We danced and jumped around so much during night one that comfy shoes for night two were a must.
Everyone loved our outfits and kept approaching us to tell us how cute we looked. I love dressing up for Taylor shows because most fans do costumes and its so fun. We decided on rainbow skirts because Taylor occasionally wears a similarly patterned dress on this tour and SHE ACTUALLY WORE IT THE SAME NIGHT WE DID. We matched. It was amazing.
Sitting farther back the second night was great. It wasn’t even like it was the same show. You notice so much more from sitting in a different part of the stadium and taking in the whole production from a different vantage point was wild. Being close is awesome, but sitting farther back you can really experience the light up bracelets as they light the stadium up in so many different colors. You can also see the fireworks better and have more space to move around, jump and dance. Plus, being by the B-Stage is so cool–this is where she performs Shake It Off and the surprise song of the night.
Surprise songs this tour are epic. Every night Taylor has been playing an old song from her previous albums and it changes each tour date. Night one in Minneapolis she played Begin Again and night two she played Tied Together With A Smile. She also did Dancing With Our Hands Tied acoustic night one and then in place of that song So It Goes acoustic on night two.
I love how Taylor keeps fans guessing–especially for those who go to multiple shows. Every show is a bit different, which in comparison to her past tours, makes the Reputation Stadium Tour so special.
If I could relive this weekend over and over again, I would. I have looked forward to these shows since Reputation was released and the tour exceeded my expectations. A special thank you to 101.3 KDWB for the night two tickets and to my family for loving Taylor as much as I do. There’s no one else I’d want by my side to experience Taylor concerts with than you guys.
I love growing up with music and it’s been awesome to compare photos from over the years when we’ve seen Taylor before. The first time we girls saw Taylor was on her Red Tour in 2013. We then saw her again in 2015 for the 1989 Tour. Getting to see her together for the Reputation Tour was the best. It’s moments and nights like this that make me feel the most alive. I’ll never forget these shows and the memories we have made.
FINAL FAVORITES:
After Taylor left the stage, the final image that came on screen was everything. The show told the story of her “reputation,” why she took time off to find herself and how she’s happy with who she really is (despite what the media says) at age 28. The details in this tour are so important–even the newspaper confetti pieces were mindblowing. So much thought has gone into the Reputation era.
During the concert, I loved seeing how Taylor portrayed how the media has portrayed her throughout her life (especially since I spent the last three years studying media in college). Sometimes people don’t know the full story, or who you truly are, and I love how Taylor took the stage to explain and express that. Props to Taylor for taking time off to find out who she would be outside of the spotlight, and for coming back better than ever. “And in the death of her reputation, she felt truly alive…”
MORE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Copying Taylor and writing lyrics down our arms for both shows. I did “Hold onto the memories they will hold onto you” and Abby did “I’ve had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.”
- Writing our lucky numbers on our hands for the shows. Mine is 23 and Abby’s is 22. During Taylor’s early tours she did the same and would write a 13.
- Wearing tour inspired costumes for night one. Mine was 1989 and Abby got her outfit inspiration from the Red Tour. My cousin and her friend Abbie were also at the show and Julia did the Speak Now era and Abbie did Fearless.
- The notes in Don’t Blame Me. If you know, you know.
- When the lights go out in Dress.
- Screaming “the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now…” in Look What You Made Me Do.
- The way she portrayed how the media has portrayed her “reputation” in the opening scene
- The newspaper confetti
- Watching fans get Rep Room (passes to meet Taylor)
- Shoutout to my sister Abby for being the best concert buddy
Have you seen Taylor before? Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought! If you haven’t, YOU NEED TO. Check out my Instagram for videos of Rep Tour Minneapolis.
ashley j. chiappetta 