By Lisa Marie Latino
Edit note: The following outlets have picked up this story: Cosmopolitan, People Magazine, Billboard, E! News, Perez Hilton, Glamour, Buzzfeed, Bustle, Elite Daily, Time, and countless others!
Still high from my special Bruce Springsteen experience only a few days ago, my sights turned south…as in South Jersey and into Philadelphia, for Taylor Swift’s next stop on her Reputation Tour.
Reputation, her multi-platinum album that introduced Taylor as a pop star badass, was easily my favorite in 2017 (and in a year that also saw Kelly Clarkson release an album, that says something). So when my cousin, Melissa, put a group together to go see her on July 14th at Lincoln Financial Field, I was an immediate “yes.” Little did I know that this particular concert would be the most unique stop on her 36 city itinerary.
Could the weather BE any more gorgeous for #TaylorSwift tonight?! CC: @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 pic.twitter.com/S8VTPVUqNS
— Lisa Marie Latino (@LisaMarieLatino) July 14, 2018
The weather for the concert was a summer’s dream, so much so that we extended our tailgate through the two opening acts, Camila Cabello and Charli XCX. As it neared Taylor’s scheduled start of 8:45 PM, we cleaned up and headed inside (where this New York Giants fan tried her best to ignore all of the looming Super Bowl LII Champion Eagles signs). We received our synchronized light-up bracelets, and took our seats just in time for Taylor’s first song of the night, “…Ready for It?”
.@taylorswift13 gives mad love for #NewJersey and #StoneHarbor to the @LFFStadium crowd! Stay tuned for #HipNJ’s @LisaMarieLatino’s exclusive on last night’s #ReputationTour stop, including that big #Delicate malfunction! Only on https://t.co/8OBPng7M5E. #TaylorSwift @Visit_NJ pic.twitter.com/oyqEmhFOB2
— Hip New Jersey (@HipNewJersey) July 16, 2018
— Hip New Jersey (@HipNewJersey) July 16, 2018
One thing that was evident throughout the night was Taylor’s gratitude for the beautiful life and opportunity that she has been blessed with. She recalled how she would dream of performing to packed audiences as an 8-year-old girl growing up in Reading, Pennsylvania, and how tonight was “more beautiful than I ever imagined it.” She also spoke nostalgically about her summers growing up at the Jersey Shore, specifically in Stone Harbor. Despite some of the hate she has attracted for this “earnestness” from pop star peers and press alike, I would like to think that every time she thanked her crew members, or law enforcement officials, or gaggles of fans, it was genuine.
Taylor continued to breeze through her setlist like the pro that she is, dazzling the sold-out crowd with “I Did Something Bad”, a mashup of her hits “Style,” “Love Story,” and “You Belong With Me” and the delicious revenge anthem, “Look What You Made Me Do.” However, the song that made the biggest splash was “Delicate”, and not because it’s one of my favorite songs ever, by any artist…
So in the middle of #Delicate, #TaylorSwift noticed that she was kind of stuck in mid air… @taylorswift13 #ReputationTour pic.twitter.com/Nym50Wy7Vp
— Lisa Marie Latino (@LisaMarieLatino) July 15, 2018
Halfway through the song, while suspended in mid air, Taylor commented that she was…stuck. The big, beautiful ball of light that was meant to tranport her to the other side of the stadium couldn’t move. While the crew got her down safely, she was left to improvise for the anxious crowd as producers backstage scrambled to figure out the next move.
.@taylorswift13 told the crowd what was going on… #TechnicalDifficulties #TaylorSwift #ReputationTour pic.twitter.com/o4q9wSZz7h
— Lisa Marie Latino (@LisaMarieLatino) July 15, 2018
Like the showwoman she is, she put to doubts any lip syncing suspicions and launched into acapella versions of “Our Song” and “Wildest Dreams”.
.@taylorswift sang two acapella songs to pass the time – #OurSong and #WildestDreams. pic.twitter.com/7butWYNcW3
— Lisa Marie Latino (@LisaMarieLatino) July 15, 2018
Once the crew figured out that a mechanical snake could get her to at least one side of the stadium, the show went on as scheduled with, appropriately, “Shake It Off.”
Yes, production problems are a nightmare (this EP’s heart and stomach went out to everyone backstage!) but it made an already-memorable show even more special. Fans got two bonus songs, and Taylor handled the situation like the pro that she is.
Tickets are still available for Taylor’s shows at MetLife Stadium on July 20th, 21st, and 22nd. Grab your girlfriends or your kids and treat yourself. I can’t promise that these shows will be as wild as mine, but it will still be wildly entertaining.
