We Were Supposed to See Taylor Swift in Vienna. We Learned a Surprising Lesson About Human Nature Instead.

It was Wednesday at 9:53 p.m. local time when we learned that a concert experience years in the making had evaporated. We’d done all with the intention of fulfilling a dream for our kids to see Taylor Swift perform over three hours and countless costume changes, having been unable or unwilling to fork over four-figure sums for resale tickets in the United States. While mourning the loss of a concert is indeed a privilege that is in most ways incongruous to other tragedies, the impact of Taylor Swift on the public’s psyche is both genuine and measurable—not only through the billions in revenue but also in the extraordinary efforts people, including myself, made to catch the blockbuster tour, to experience the magic of the music and glittery fanfare live for a few hours. For fans such as myself and my kids, mourning the loss of a Taylor Swift concert experience, communal expressions of disappointment, and shared online activities can play a significant role in coping with the letdown. We eventually encountered fellow Swifties congregated in the town center and on Corneliusgasse, a street in Vienna that shares a name with Swift’s song “Cornelia Street.” Hundreds upon hundreds of Swifties started spontaneous singing rallies, exchanging bracelets and hugging one another out of shared grief and relief that even terrorist plots could not break our spirit.