It's a hot February evening in Melbourne/Naarm, and the rays of sunshine glancing off thousands of sequins is almost blinding.
It's Taylor Swift Day. There has been a hum in the air from the start, a feeling that everyone in the city is tilting their bodies slightly towards the MCG, just waiting for the moment when she will finally take the stage.
Well, that's the folklore, anyway.
And it's certainly true for the young fans who huddled in blankets to see her private jet touching down just before 1am on Thursday. It's why people spent thousands of dollars to come to the show — a young Perth woman of no more than 20 details the long list of expenses that she copped to get here: "I'd go anywhere to see Taylor," she says.
We'll find out later there are 96,000 people here — the largest turnout to the Eras global tour so far, Taylor tells us — and almost every single person is decked out.
Bulging pink clusters of people are gathered on every corner, practically jumping up and down with excitement. Fans with friendship bracelets from wrist to elbow adjust their shiny skirts and tops and breathlessly speculate about what the two secret songs will be (more on that later).
I love a lot of Taylor's music, but the breathless furore in the build-up to her arrival had me feeling a bit sceptical. How could one woman, albeit a very rich and talented one, possibly live up to all the hype?
But within five minutes of her explosive arrival on the stage, I thought to myself: She's going to do it.
The Eras
Thanks to the wall-to-wall coverage of her shows around the world so far — and the release of the Eras concert film in October — most of us know the premise of this tour.
It covers 10 albums the star has released, from 2008's Fearless, to 2022's Midnights.
We also knew that she would start with the Lover era — the one awash in candy pink, featuring such bangers as You Need to Calm Down. And it doesn't disappoint, particularly her acoustic version of title track Lover, featuring a pale pink guitar and pastel-clad dancers whirling around her in ecstatic pairs.
But it's when she transitions into her second era — Fearless — that she really hits her stride. The key change in classic teen track Love Story has the crowd screaming and jumping like they're in a mosh pit.
The songs keep coming, the giant screens behind the stage offering videos and voice-overs while Taylor does a lightning-fast costume change. The breaks are negligible, and before you know it Taylor is back, her red lipstick perfect.
Endearing cheesiness
There's something a bit like musical theatre in the way this show runs, particularly the props and stage design.
The folklore era — one of two woodsy albums Taylor released during the pandemic — opens with her lying dreamily on the roof of an actual cabin, smoke puffing from the chimney.
In Midnights, the dancers each have small individual ladders with a fluffy white cloud at the top. During the track Vigilante sh*t, the troupe and Taylor writhe and dance on chairs in powerful unison (another musical theatre staple, and perhaps a welcome moment where she actually gets to sit down for a second).
For the Evermore era she appears in a long yellow dress and green velvet cape, the dancers carrying glowing orange balls.
It's a strong witchy mood, and Taylor leans into it, swirling her cape theatrically.
The show is cheesier than I expected it to be, in a way that's endearing. Taylor doesn't act like the most famous woman on the planet; she sticks out her tongue and does over-the-top mimes that match her lyrics, hamming it up the whole time.
And making it clear that she doesn't take herself too seriously allows her to get away with her more earnest moments — and things like having a moss-covered grand piano and a wooden microphone.
"I want to hear 96,000 people sing Champagne Problems with me," she says in front of said piano during the evermore era, where the crowd heartily joins in, and then spends about three whole minutes afterwards cheering and chanting her name.
A show just for you
Covering 10 albums in one show is no small feat, and it requires almost three-and-a-half hours to do it.
At times, the continuous gear shifts feel a bit jarring, whipping away from an era just when it feels like it's hitting its stride. But then she plays the opening notes of the next hit, and you're pulled right back in.
The folklore era drags a little, perhaps because it's a slower album and comes in the latter half of the show, when everyone's feet are starting to get tired (almost every single audience member leapt up at the start of the show and didn't sit back down).
But ensuring each album gets a nod is smart. It captures so many different fans, handing each of them their breathless moment.
"I wanted everyone to feel like we made the show for you," she tells the crowd. "Whether you're new here or you've been hanging out with me for 15 years."
The acoustic set — where she plays her two "surprise" songs each night — is not just a highlight because it's the only part of the show we can't predict. After playing Red on guitar beautifully and simply, she strides over to the piano (now moss-free) and plays You're Losing Me, the ballad first released as a bonus track on the extended version of Midnights. It's the first time she's played the song live, she tells us, and a woman behind me actually sobs, her hand over her mouth.
Marking each era also serves as a handy reminder to everyone, particularly the haters, of how successful her career has already been.
The energy doesn't stop for the entire show, right up until the moment that Taylor does a deep bow, mouths "I love you" and disappears, the crowd beside themselves with adulation.
Taylor Swift may sing that she is sick of running as fast as she can in her song The Man, but this epic show demonstrates that she and her juggernaut of success won't be slowing down any time soon.
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