Polish and Beyond: July 2013

A few short hours ago, I arrived home from something I'd been dreaming about for years. I just went to a TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT!!!! Ahhh! Okay. Okay. Breathe. I will be sharing my experience with you in this blog. Whether your reading this to get excited for a concert your going to or if you are daydreaming that this is your experience, I hope you enjoy! And I am in no way trying to brag, I just remembers how I enjoyed reading or watching other people's Taylor Swift concert experiences before I even knew I'd ever end up going to one.

How It Started:

It all started out when Taylor announced her RED Tour. I'd been a fan for years and have wanted to go to one of her concerts for so long. So I got the idea for me and my three best friends, who also love Taylor Swift, to go to one of her concerts. After a ton of decision making misunderstood pre-sale dates and sold out concerts, my amazing cousin, who works at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, let us know about groups of 6 tickets (for the four ecstatic teenage girls, my dad, and my friends mom) that were still available for the Friday, July 19th 2013 Taylor Swift concert. After choosing the section, the tickets were on their way! Yay!

Preparation:

Alright, we tossed around many ideas like wearing blue (losing him), dark grey (missing him), and red (loving him) shirts with the fourth girl wearing another Swift lyric inspired shirt but by the time the concert was approaching, we decided it would have to be every girl for herself. My friends wore outfits that contained, of course, the color red. But I last minute made a shirt. Like, really last minute. Like, the morning of the concert. I do NOT advise doing this as I had many mishaps. In my defense, it was the first time I'd tried to transform a T-shirt into a tanktop. But after sewing up the wrong cut, and repeating the mistake and sewing up of the other side (to make it symmetrical) it was good. Then I started fabric painting. I planned on using fabric paint on both the front and the back but, due to poor planning, I didn't have the time for that. So I just used a fabric marker for the back, and used the intended fabric paint on the front. Stupid me thought it'd help to use a fan to speed the drying process. DO NOT DO THIS! Ugh. The shirt folded over on itself and the paint got ruined. With the help of my comforting mom, I was able to fix it enough to not be embarrassed to wear it. It actually did turn out pretty good.

Since I love doing nails so much, I had to do a Taylor Swift inspired manicure. Sorry for not doing a step-by-step tutorial but here's the finished look.

I'd also gathered Taylor Swift memorabilia, just in case there was an opportunity to get things signed. My dad bought a pack of Fourth of July glowsticks and we picked out the red and white ones to use for the concert. And both my lock screen (a picture of our tickets) and my iPhone wallpaper (Taylor Swift in concert) reflected my excitement. I even wrote a letter to Taylor Swift that I hoped would reach her.

Lastly, when we got to my friend's house, the location where we would head off from, we used chalk to "dye" sections of our hair red (and yes, I still participated in this even though my hair is already red). We also used Sharpies to draw Taylor's infamous "13" and various lyrics on ourselves.

Sorry, it was really worn off by the time I took this.

After this, we were off!

The Trip:

We left around 2:30 and started our trip to Philly. Of course, RED was playing during the entire trip. After we stopped to eat at McDonald's and waited in traffic for far too long, we parked in our VIP Parking in Lot K (again, thanks to my cousin) a little after 5:00.

The Tickets:

At this point, I, who was probably the one "fangirling" the most, was almost in tears. Okay, I was in tears. I was so excited. we entered the stadium and walked up the ramps to the 200 level, where our seats were in section 211. This section is the tippy-top of the stadium. You can see in this diagram how far from the stage we were, and then factor in how high up we were as you can see in the picture I took.

We still had plenty of time before the concert started, so we all went separate ways. My dad went to buy water for us all (it was over 100 degrees out), two of my friends went to buy T-shirts, my other friend and I went to explore the stadium, and my friend's mom graciously stayed at our seats watching our stuff. So while we were exploring we noticed stadium workers giving people neon yellow wristbands. We'd both noticed it on the way up but figured it was for "Club Red." Then I realized, they wouldn't be choosing people for Club Red already. So my friend asks one of the workers what they were for. He explained how they were giving tickets for FLOOR SEATS. I repeat, FLOOR SEATS. He asked what section and row we were in, but said we had to get our whole group there now if we all wanted them. Our group was spread out over the stadium! I wait near the workers, making sure they don't leave, and I tell my friend to grab my purse, my poster, and her mom. She came back with all that and my two other friends. Now the only person missing was my dad. I wouldn't have wanted him to miss out. I'd feel awful the entire concert. We were tryin to explain to the worker and I try to call my dad, but he doesn't pick up. I look up and I see him walking back towards us. I run over and start crying while I tell him, "we got floor seats!" He got this scared look on his face which I learned later was because he'd thought I said "four seats." He understood once he went over to the worker with me and all SIX of us received our new tickets and our neon yellow wristbands. All of us are so happy. We make our way back down the ramps as we all call our friends and family that aren't there and tell them the amazing news. We continue down onto the floor and make our way to our new seats (which were ironically in row 13). Here's the view from our new seats.

I was so grateful. We were seated in the middle, right between the normal stage and the stage in the back where she performs some of the songs. The best part was that the section was right next to the aisle where she walks from stage to stage! It was perfect. And now the concert's about to start.

The Concert:

First to perform was Joel Crouse, an insignificant country artist who was actually pretty good. I didn't get to hear his whole performance because I too went up to buy a T-shirt. I came back and Austin Mahone was about to perform. I was not at all thrilled by him. He was a Justin Bieber wannabe, and to be honest, who would wanna be like Justin Bieber? Next was Ed Sheeran! He came out wearing an Eagles' T-shirt, which I thought was pretty cool. I actually only knew one of his songs, A Team, but I still enjoyed his performance. He is truly an amazing guitarist. He had this really cool foot pedal that could repeat a rhythm he played on his guitar to make a beat. He played really fast and was very hard on the strings. At one point, one of them broke but he was quickly given a new guitar while his was restrung and ready by the next song. It sounded amazing. He could also sing, almost rap, really fast. I couldn't understand what he was saying. Then it was time for what every screaming fan was waiting for... TAYLOR SWIFT!!! I don't even remember what song she started with. I wish I remembered the order of them all, but I don't. I was too busy taking pictures, and videos (shhhhh, it wasn't allowed). Being that the concert was in Philly, she was very enthusiastic about how she grew up right down the road. It was cool. She did four songs that were not from RED - You Belong With Me, Sparks Fly, Love Story, and her "surprise" song, Safe and Sound, from the Hunger Games soundtrack. Also, in the middle of Stay Stay Stay, she introduced one of her bass players and he started to play a riff and she said, "where have I heard this tune before?" It was The Lumineers' Hey Ho. So she started singing that and then went from "I belong with you, you belong with me" to "so I think that it's best if we both stay." Or something like that. It was really cool. I also liked how instead of singing "that's when you came in wearing a football helmet" she sang "thats when you came in wearing an Eagles' helmet." Get it? 'Cause it was at the Eagles' stadium. Another thing I liked (besides the whole concert) was when Ed and Taylor were about to sing Everything Has Changed, he said, "good to go?" just like in the recorded song. Ah, I loved that. Okay, so let's talk about the part where Taylor walked to the stage in the back and then back to the front. On her way back, she went on the side furthest from me (I was in seat 3). At this time, we'd gotten me, two of the friends, and the two girls next to us behind the rope along the aisle. It was going to be perfect. We could all get a chance to touch Taylor's hand. And the security guard standing near us was fine with it, but another guard, who was just walking by, told us we had to get back to our seats. Me and one of my friends, being the obedient people we are, went back to our seats while Taylor performed on the back stage. But I look over, and see my other friend, who was in seat 4, not seat 3, still standing at the rope. Gah, I was jealous. So I just did what I could and gave her my letter to Taylor to try to hand her as she walked past and I got out my camera to start recording. She starts walking by and I get the whole thing on camera! Woohoo! She was literally 3 or 4 feet from me! But it was sooo hard to record because people kept piling up behind me. But anyways, the fate of my letter. My friend stuck he hand out and Taylor grabbed her arm. I repeat, grabbed her arm. Ohmygoodness. It really looked like she wanted to take the letter but one of the security guards escorting her pushed my friends hand away. Gr. I know, I know, it's for security purposes, but still. I still wish I could have been the one in the aisle. But it's really okay. The concert, with floor seats, was great enough! It was truly amazing. I'm glad I got to get so much as I did picture and video wise. My camera didn't die until the last song (We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together), which was kind of unfortunate because it had a lot of fireworks and confetti and theatrics, but it's okay. I tried to take a video on my iPhone but I didn't have enough memory. I settled for a picture of the final lights and fireworks.

I, like most people who go to her concerts, got a piece of confetti to take home. I stayed around as long as I could after the concert and looked around for people going to Club Red. I thought I saw a group of people standing behind the gates that block off the stage area, but I guess it was for a different reason because I later learned that their wasn't a Club Red that night since Taylor, Ed, and Austin went out for dinner afterwards. I'm happier that there wasn't any Club Red than of there was one and I wasn't picked. That sounds rude, but it's tue. We then went back out to our car after the security guards and clean-up crew asked us to leave. Just letting you know if you ever go to a big event here, the traffic when you leave will be atrocious! It took FOREVER to get out of there. But it was ALL worth it because it was truly one of the best nights of my life!

More Pictures: