Given its length and scope, it should come as no surprise that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour suffered from the odd technical issue. Still, it’s somewhat remarkable that so many of the (champagne) problems involved a specific instrument.
Step in front of Swift’s flower-adorned piano, where she plays her “surprise songs” during the acoustic portion of the show.
The problem story began in Massachusetts when the instrument suddenly started playing notes on its own the night before due to rain damage. And then there was the time (in Lyon, France) when it didn’t play at all.
And guess what? It happened again. During the second of her two shows in Milan over the weekend, Swift ditched the piano almost immediately when she started playing Getaway Car from the 2017 album Reputation.
“This is a terrible, terrible prank,” Swift is heard telling the crowd, according to TikTok videos, when she realizes what has happened. “I think my piano overheated – we’re just going to start again.”
As with previous problems, a technician quickly rushed onto the stage to try to bring the piano back to life. As he went about his work, Swift turned to him and joked, “You know what – we finally broke it. We finally broke this thing.”
As it turned out, that wasn’t entirely true, because the piano was repaired and Swift was able to carry on – after a brief struggle with the lid.
@shannonkingett ♬ Original sound – Shannon Kingett
Whether the famous but fickle instrument will make it to the end of the Eras Tour remains to be seen. Although it’s nearing its end, Swift still has 27 shows left at the time of writing, so there’s plenty of time for something to go wrong between now and the final date on December 8 in Vancouver.
Whatever happens, we’d say the piano was the shooting star of the Eras Tour and, assuming it holds up, deserves a happy and restful retirement.
