Silicon Valley has played host to many tectonic cultural forces over the decades—from the introduction of the personal computer to the way search engines and social media companies altered how humans navigate through the world.Â
In a way, these technological advances allowed old and young alike to survive a period of tremendous restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic in relative comfort—with nearly every song in existence at your fingertips, and the ability to comment on them endlessly with friends who may live across town, or on the other side of the country.
But the live, amplified spectacle—its modern form owing quite a debt to groups like the Grateful Dead, who trace their origins to the region—became like a figment of the imagination for the youth of today, thanks to lockdowns meant to keep a communicable disease at bay.
There is perhaps no more powerful cultural queen than the woman born in West Reading, Penn. in 1989. Taylor Swift and Drake recently had quite the high-profile battle for the crown of top pop artist, after Swift became the first artist in history to take over the Billboard’s entire top 10 when her album Midnights was released, last year.
And according to a 2023 YouGov poll, 98% of people in America know who Taylor Swift is—only Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake scored higher.
And yet, she hasn’t toured since the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018.
So, her two-day reemergence with The Eras Tour at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara was always going to cause a cultural earthquake. And it did—even at the highest levels of government, as a controversy raised questions on Capitol Hill about how to fix abuses in the ticketing industry.
In spite of the significance, 21-year-old Fernando Escobedo, who came down from Contra Costa County to work the event, said the fans who showed up Friday were well-behaved.
“There were no stabbings,” he said, referring to a crime committed during a soccer game held at the venue earlier in the month. “I mean, it was a Taylor Swift concert.”
Escobedo recalled how an army of people put down boards to protect the grass and made other preparations, beginning several days earlier.
He was assigned to the check-in booth until around 9pm. Some people tried to bribe their way in.
“One of my buddies was offered $1,000,” he said, explaining this was for a group of about eight girls.
Considering the cheapest ticket he saw for sale that day was priced at $690, that wasn’t even a good deal.
“One person bought tickets right in front of us for $2,000,” he added.
Someone came from Texas to see the Swift spectacle, he noted.
And there was a daughter-and-mother whose tickets for the first show (purchased through an authorized vendor) worked, but when they checked their additional set, for Saturday (which they’d purchased via Facebook Marketplace), they discovered these were fakes.
Was it worth the hype?
“I think it was,” Escobedo said, noting that he’d managed to sneak a peek on a bathroom break. “You just hear it and feel the love for Taylor.”
Escobedo was particularly impressed by the bracelets that added an interactive visual component to the show.
“When the beat was dropping or when she was singing you could see a bunch of light,” he said. “It was just like a bunch of flashlights were going off.”
Lindsay Stuart, 32, came down from Lake Tahoe with her husband.
They weren’t part of the Levi’s Stadium crowd. Instead they attended a sanctioned watch party at a hotel, starting around 4pm.
“We went to the Hilton tailgate,” she said. “It was way less crowded than anticipated.”
They’d experienced the sheer madness of the inaugural Eras date in the Phoenix area.
She was blown away that Swift would sing more than 40 songs in a single concert.
“Taylor Swift for president!” she exclaimed.
Reed Bowman, 18, didn’t have a ticket for Friday night, either.
But the San Carlos resident showed up in Santa Clara with two friends anyways.
“We were outside of the concert,” he said. “It was pretty chill.”
Unfortunately, there were announcements playing on a loop, likely as a deterrent to exterior spectators.
“They had them blaring constantly,” he said, but added, “We could hear her voice.”
And their crew was forced to stand back 500 feet.
“Other than that, it was a good concert,” he said. “Solid.”
Jana Morales, 19, took the bus from Santa Cruz with her younger sister.
The trip over the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Highway 17 express wasn’t too bad, she recalled.
The challenge came in trying to find a rideshare driver willing to bring them from the station.
Morales described how everything came alive when Swift appeared.
“You could feel everything moving,” she said. “It was just really amazing.”
This was a big moment for Morales.
“I’ve been a fan of hers since I was 11,” she said. “I wanted to see her.”
As awesome as being part of the effervescent crowd itself was, Morales mused, there was something even more magical about stepping outside the stadium to search for their parents—who were on their way to whisk them back to Santa Cruz—and looking back at the fantastic, shimmering scene they’d been lucky enough to have been part of.
