TORONTO – Once in a lifetime, when super concerts like the Eras Tour of Taylor Swift is held in your backyard, the temptation becomes monumental to not check it out. If people from far away places travel to the city just for this, why not a Torontonian like me. It is very seldom a super show comes to Toronto and the municipal government tries to help and boost the show. After all, it generates millions of dollars for its coffers. Surprisingly, the show is sold out despite the current struggling economy. 

I would like to share with our readers the experience I had. I went to check out the venue, staring at the entrance for three to four hours before the start of the concert. I was not surprised when a line started to form when I arrived. Fans, young and old, of various ethnicities, dressed up for the occasion, wearing Taylor Swift  outfits. You can tell the really young ones because they came with mature people, presumably chaperones. At the front gate of the Eras Tour, everyone had their picture taken or took selfies, twofies, or even groufies. Not really ideal for Covid distancing considering that there is a resurgence again of this virus.

And, of course, as in every concert, the presence of commercial establishments is hard to ignore. Hats, shirts, anything that had to do with the name Taylor Swift was up for sale. 

Every concert has a security in place. Terrorists cannot distinguish between a concert and, say, a political gathering. The aim of a terrorist is to inflict terror in a big crowd and where else can you find big crowds but in big arenas like Rogers. No bags, food or drinks allowed. Attendees are asked to walk towards the gate in an orderly fashion, without shouting or horse playing. Even in the surrounding hotels and pubs, security was tight. Roads were blocked, with streets temporarily converted into one way. As expected, hotels in the vicinity raised their occupancy rates, oftentimes with notices that no rooms were available.

Media coverage became exclusive for big corporations despite the presence of a media booth near the gate. No matter how resourceful you are to get in free, chances are you will fail. Even people willing to pay got disappointed because tickets were sold out long before Taylor Swift arrived. Any chance of a ticket will bring insurmountable disappointment because most likely, the ticket is a fake one. The first stage of three shows in a row is over and everyone was satisfied getting their moneys worth. The second stage is coming this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Hopefully, it will be a repeat of the first one. Not disappointing.

I guess with the stressful day to day life, one needs a distraction. Taylor Swift provided the distraction.

(Photos by Ricky Castellvi)