Party Like It’s 1989

It’s been just over a week since Taylor Swift took Detroit by storm. It feels like it was just yesterday (oh how I wish that was true!), and I have been wishing ever since I walked out of Ford Field that I could go back. Instead I’ll just have to relive it right here.

My friend Kaitlyn and I got all dressed up, complete with red lipstick for our night on the town. Mother Nature might have thrown about three inches of rain at us, but there was no stopping the fun. Even when we got stuck in barely moving traffic as we entered downtown Detroit. With roads closed and blocked and over fifty thousand people heading to one place, I actually got worried we wouldn’t make it on time. Luckily we did. I was so relieved to walk into Ford Field, which, as you know is one of my favorite places in the city.

We got out wristbands and headed down to the floor for our ninth row seats RIGHT. NEXT. TO. THE. STAGE. OMG! I couldn’t believe how close we were and how well I could see Taylor. It was insane. I couldn’t have asked for better seats.

Before we knew it, Taylor took the stage. Suddenly each one of our LED, preprogrammed wrist bands lit up. It was so neat to look around the stadium to see the flashing lights. She sang mostly songs from 1989, which was really fine with me, as I absolutely love every song on the album. The only one she didn’t sing was “Wonderland,” which was a bit of a bummer for me, as I have fallen in love with that song. She did sing slightly remixed versions of “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “We are Never Getting Back Together,” “Love Story,” and “Enchanted.”

Amid all of the great songs, to which I was singing along as though I was on stage, were a plethora of costume changes. Taylor had talked about how this tour was more about fashion than costumes, and I could definitely see that. I want to wear a couple of the outfits! The giant screen behind Taylor added to the atmosphere of a lot of the songs, as did her dancers, with their costumes and incredible expressiveness through motion.

My favorite was probably when it looked as though it was raining. The dancers all had light up umbrellas and Taylor had on a lit dress. It really popped.

While most tours do come through Detroit, not many bring surprises. Taylor proved to be the exception. She mentioned Detroit is special to her because she performed the National Anthem at Ford Field when she was 16, so she wanted to do something different for us. And she certainly did. Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons came out to sing “Radioactive” with Taylor.

I could not have been more excited. I love Imagine Dragons and it was so cool to see a little bit of another amazing act in a unique way, something typically saved for the Grammys. Taylor also brought her friends Gigi Hadid and Martha Hunt from the “Bad Blood” music video out to walk the “runway” during “Style.”

I was hoping to be a part of the special meet and greet party Taylor holds after her shows, Loft 89, but I was not chosen. Just in case, I bought a Catbird Lovecat ring like mine to give to Taylor. When I was pretty sure I wouldn’t get to meet her, I caught the attention of one of her workers. I gave him the ring and a business card (it was all I had on me to identify myself), and he gave me a guitar pick in return. How cool is that???? I put it on my trinket tray with all my perfume and little crystal knick-knacks.

I know it sounds crazy, but I thought maybe Taylor and I could become friends if I met her. I still think one day maybe we’ll be friends. Who knows, if she wants to become an actress, maybe she could be in one of my scripts.

Before long the show started coming to a close. “Out of the Woods” was the penultimate song. It’s my favorite song of all time. Though it’s about being in love, I think of it in a more general way, describing my life. I am in “screaming color” while the rest of the world is “black and white” and I often wonder where life is taking me and if I am out of the woods. It’s such an emotional song for me, and one I could listen to on repeat.

But we couldn’t end on that note. Taylor came back out to sing “Shake it Off,” one of my other favorite songs, because who doesn’t need to shake something off a lot of the time? Her moving stage, rose up and moved around the stadium, while we all had a dance party. It was really something.

And with that, Taylor was done. My voice was gone, my feet were numb, and I had had one of the best times of my life. Kaitlyn and I headed back to our car, thankfully parked very close to the stadium. And then we sat in traffic and got lost in Detroit for a good hour (even with the GPS – thanks, M1 rail project!), before making out way to the highway and heading back to my house.

I actually didn’t mind sitting in traffic and driving around, save for the fact that I was getting incredibly tired. It was so fun talking to Kaitlyn, being out and about, feeling normal, feeling like I was getting a glimpse of the life I want so badly. I’ll be there the next time Taylor performs in town, and until then, I’ll just jam to my CD to keep shaking off all my troubles and having dance parties.