Comparing ‘The Eras’ in KCMO: A sold-out crowd for Michael Jackson in 1984 to Taylor Swift mania

KANSAS CITY, Mo — Two different eras, but not everything has changed for concert goers in Kansas City, Missouri.

Back when Michael Jackson was bad in the ’80s, and the pop star some fans are getting to know all too well — Taylor Swift.

For Russ Cline, it’s almost like looking back to yesterday when Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 were untouchable on the same week in 1984, and in the same stadium Taylor Swift will perform in this weekend.

“When he went on that stage, the charisma coming back from the crowd, you could feel it,” said Cline, who promoted Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5’s Victory Tour. “It would knock you down like a tsunami of cheering. When he went on the stage, he left it all on the stage. He never came out with nothing left.”

Cline’s work with now-GHEA Field at Arrowhead Stadium helped him land the “King of Pop” in KCMO for the first stop on the Victory Tour. He got to be there for Michael Jackson every step of the way.

“His manager said, ‘Michael wants to meet,’ and I said, ‘I’ll be back,’” Cline said. “It was 2:00. I said I would be back in two hours and Michael and I watched the fireworks in the Plaza together.”

So, what has changed from going to a concert in 1984 to one almost 40 years later?

“The highest-priced tickets were with tax — $30. Face value — $28. All done by mail order,” Cline said. “All these thousands of tickets were ordered and you could only order six at a time and they were filled by hand. Today, we have Ticketmaster.”

CLIFF SCHIAPPA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Well, call it what you want, being a Swiftie in 2023 takes concert-going to a whole new level.

“That’s the power of this concert,” Cline said.

No one knows better the way she makes them feel than Cline’s granddaughter, who didn’t think she would get the tickets.

“She’s one of your best friends, but you’ve never talked to her,” said Julia Cline, a Taylor Swift fan.

That’s how she defined a true Swiftie. When it’s time to go in 48 hours for the Saturday concert, she’ll have her 200 friendship bracelets.

“Without the bead spinner it takes like three hours, not three hours, but a while to make one bracelet,” Julia Cline said.

One day, she’ll be able to remember the time she got to see one of the biggest pop stars.

“A lot of screaming and my voice being gone in the morning,” she said.

And her grandfather will remember his too.

“Someone asked me the other day, will there be bigger? Probably, there is always bigger coming,” Russ Cline said.

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