Let The Rain Fall Down: The Taylor Swift Reputation Tour Comes To Chicgao

Here's the thing: Taylor Swift thrives, even in the pouring rain. Her tour made it to Chicago this weekend for a performance at Soldier Field, and boy, did it rain. So much so that my scales were rusty the next day! (I'm a snaaaaake.)

It's like the rain kickstarted a whole new style of reputation tour. Taylor started this whole tour with a kind of defensive bent — hence me, the scary-looking snake! She was here to defend her reputation and to set some things straight. Remember: This show starts with a montage about how Taylor was "misunderstood." And then there was that BBMAs speech in which Taylor said she'd felt misunderstood while writing reputation.

Now, she's a lot less aggro about it all. Before she sang "Delicate," Taylor gave a speech honoring pride month. (Which is now, babes! As a slinky, animatronic snake, I'd like to declare that this is my month.)

"It’s very brave to be vulnerable about your feelings in any situation, but it’s even more brave to be honest about your feelings and who you love when you know that it might be met with adversity from society," she said.

She continued, "This is a month where I think we need to celebrate how far we’ve come, but I think we also need to acknowledge how far we have left to go. I want to send my love and respect to everybody who hasn’t felt comfortable enough to come out yet ... and may you do that on your own time and may we end up in a world where everyone can live and love equally and no one has to be afraid to all say how they feel."

Okay, another cuddly thing: Taylor sang "Our Song." That's the original Taylor Swift, the song that started it all. The slam of screen doors! Talking on the phone! The first of many inscrutable love songs! Did you know that Taylor wrote it for her ninth grade talent show? She did. A little known fact about my master is that she's been massively, massively talented for years, and it's okay for her to grow, change, and evolve. And molt, like snakes do! I don't molt because I am a machine.

Despite a certain voicemail message to the contrary, Old Taylor is never dead — just like a reptile, Taylor discards her old self and grows a new skin, but that doesn't mean her body has fundamentally changed. She's just, you know, changing. How does that Hilary Duff song go?

Case in point: Taylor sang "22," probably her best "Our Song" follow-up, second only to "Mine." It's the first real dance-the-feelings away song she wrote, proof that not everything in Taylor's life is related to boys, boys, and boys. (Although, this does not mean that we don't want her to cover "Boys" by Charli XCX.) She accidentally started "22" in the wrong key, which is so relatable and silly. Taylor! You've known this song for years.

The only really bad thing was — and I don't want to speak out of class here — the hover snake, which lifts Taylor above the crowd, wasn't working. So, she had to dash through the crowd like a real snake.

This is what happens when it rains, I guess! (Note: I am a snake, and I have no idea what really happened with my compatriot hover snake. We don't really associate with the other snakes on the tour. I mostly spend my time with the backup dancers because they are just as slinky as I am.) Like I said, the rain was mostly fun. It gave the whole concert a homemade, scrappy feel. Like, yes, this whole thing is making bank, but it's also just 52,000 fans dancing in the rain.

Plus, the rain was just cool because when Taylor sang "Why'd you have to rain on my parade?" she was literally dealing with rain.

Last things last: How does my face look in this pic?