theme nights, tribute bands keep the dream alive for taylor swift's vancouver fans
theme nights dedicated to superstar artists like swift have become a way to draw in new customers.
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for millions of taylor swift fans, the eras tour is giving them a chance to see their favourite artist live. but what happens once the circus has left town? if the last few years are any indication, the swift experience will live on in bars and nightclubs as theme nights, tribute acts, and cover bands.
for struggling small and mid-size bars, theme nights dedicated to superstar artists like swift have become a way to draw in new customers.
“they are super-popular these days and we are selling-out emo nights, taylor swift nights and, recently, an event called dancing queen where we played abba and queen all night,” hollywood theatre talent-buyer jay wallace, a.k.a. dj jay swing, told postmedia’s stuart derdeyn earlier this year. “it’s all young people in their 20s as well, which is a great focus for any venue.”
even the rickshaw theatre, a dtes venue known more for punk and metal acts than mainstream pop stars, succumbed to swiftmania. between 2022 and 2023 the hastings street venue hosted no fewer than three taylor-themed dance parties presented by toronto-based promoter up dance party co.
“the theme nights definitely introduced a whole bunch of new people to the venue,” said rickshaw marketing director louise wersching, who also tended bar for the events.
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“all three were busy. however the drink sales do not compare to our sales on nights where we have metal shows.”
slaylor swiftdeath, featuring local musicians dj on, alie lynch, gal av-gay, stephen laughton, and lindsay stewart from vancouver bands non la, maneater, megamall, midnight news, be afraid, dumb, and tempest, covered taylor swift at last year’s covers from the crypt at red gate on main. mijung lee photo
a self-confessed “huge swiftie,” wersching will be attending the dec. 8 show, the last of the nearly two-year eras tour.
she was also in the audience for the one — and so far only — performance by slaylor swiftdeath.
“we were listening to (swift’s 2022 album) midnights a lot,” said local musician lindsay stewart. “and when we thought of doing it we were like, oh yeah, we’ve got to. it’s a must.”
the “must” she’s talking about is performing a set of swift covers for red gate arts society’s annual halloween event covers from the crypt. each year the night features local musicians forming pickup cover bands dedicated to specific artists.
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for crypt’s sixth edition, which took place at the main street art space last year, stewart and other members of local bands, including megamall and maneater, learned a whole bunch of swift songs. in all, she figures they performed about 12, including a few medleys.
“picking songs was really tough, because her catalogue is so extensive,” she said.
“we just went album by album and either picked a hit from it or didn’t, because there was no way we could do a well-rounded representation. there are so many albums and you have quite a short time to work with. we tried to cram in as many as we could.”
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cruel summer, blank space, anti-hero, and you belong with me made the cut. but shake it off — arguably swift’s biggest hit — didn’t.
“i think i vetoed that one,” stewart said. “i support doing the popular hits, but she has so many better ones that it didn’t feel necessary. but some people might have different opinions about that.”
the quintet dressed the part too.
“we had a sprinkling of different eras. i went as country taylor. dj on went with the red carpet, glam look she had. and then alie (lynch) went as one of the characters in the you belong with me video.”
stewart says that she was happy with the result. “it was so much fun, and we pulled together in such a short period of time. it was a satisfying endeavour. and people were amped. the audience was very into it.”
describing herself as a casual fan, stewart says she made a “soft” but unsuccessful attempt to get tickets to the eras tour in vancouver.
“my fandom peaked around midnights. i didn’t really connect with her most recent release (the tortured poets department]) but i think she’s a great songwriter.”
on the weekend of the shows, she says she will “probably avoid downtown at all costs. but i can appreciate people getting excited.”
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