Back in 2020, Dutch pop-punk band Call It Off called it quits after having made music together for about 7 years. Due to COVID, they had to push their farewell show to 2022, which gave them extra time to release what was to be their last EP, Fare Well. However, less than a year after that ‘final’ show, lead singer and guitarist Maurice Bolier and drummer Sergei Christian reformed the band together with guitarist Gio Sliwa and bassist Timmy Steenstra Toussaint. While the band still writes and records their own original music, they’ve become more known for something else; namely, making pop punk covers of Taylor Swift’s songs. This brought them so many new fans that they decided to embark on the ‘Eras Tour Goes Poppunk’ tour. On the 30th of January, the band made a stop at Haarlem’s Patronaat.
Doors to the venue opened at 19:30, and a mere thirty minutes later, the night’s support act Renee Rose took to the stage. The female pop singer writes music in Dutch that truly embodies girlpower, and the outfit she came on stage with only added to the attitude. Wearing black jeans with pink stars and a black t-shirt that said “I do all my own stunts”, Rose dove straight into her first song, ‘Meisje met een Droom’. She followed it up with ‘Schaduwkant’ before playing two very personal songs. The first, ‘Grenzeloos’, was written about Rose’s toxic ex. “Nobody decides what you wear, how you dance, how you live,” she said, a plea to those who might have been or still are in a similar situation. The next, ‘Slet van 6VWO’, Rose wrote about how she was slutshamed in high school by her peers, a partial reason as to why Rose felt the need to talk about her feelings in the form of music. “To everyone who has slutshamed me, thank you,” she said, as without them, she wouldn’t have been up on this stage tonight. Songs like these felt very in line with the Taylor Swift theme, as Swift herself has also written several songs about similar topics. Rose also stated that Swift is a huge inspiration for her. And who knows, Rose herself might become a big inspiration for others one day. Dutch pop is more popular in the country than ever, and these songs, as well as the second-to-last track, ‘Zoete Wraak’, really showed off Rose’s songwriting abilities. On top of that, her stage presence was great – surely she found some new fans in the audience tonight.
Thirty minutes after Rose had left the stage, a sound that should have been familiar to many people in attendance tonight began playing over the speakers: the introduction to ‘The Eras Tour’. “It’s been a long time coming…” could be heard as one by one, the band members took to the stage. First up was drummer Sergei Christian, who was wearing the coolest jacket, which had the words “Long Live” and the number 13 embroidered on it. He took this off right away to reveal a basketball jersey that also featured the number 13. Even the backdrop featured the number 13, which, of course, is Taylor Swift’s favourite number. It’s also what Call It Off named their studio album of re-imagined Taylor Swift songs. They opened the set with the same song that Swift opened ‘The Eras Tour’ with, ‘Cruel Summer’. Singer Maurice Bolier even included Swift’s speech before the song’s bridge. Right away, the fans knew this would be a very special night. The band continued with ‘22’, after which Christian told the audience to “sing along, do it for her! This is for Taylor”. Christian’s favourite song from The Life of a Showgirl would be played next, namely ‘Opalite’. People in attendance screamed along to every word, from the youngest Swifties to the oldest pop-punk fans.
Call It Off continued with ‘So High School’ and ‘But Daddy I Love Him’. It must be said: t it was refreshing to hear that the band never changed any of the pronouns when covering the songs, especially prominent in ‘But Daddy I Love Him’. “I’m having the time of my life!” Bolier told the audience as they continued the set with ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’ and the first cover the band had uploaded to their socials, ‘Fortnight’. This The Tortured Poets Department section had only been interrupted by Midnights’ ‘Anti-Hero’ and Reputation’s ‘…Ready For It?’. It must be said that the latter probably fit Call It Off’s style the most, so hopefully they’ll record some more Reputation covers in the near future. Moving on, the band asked two kids on stage to try their first-ever stage dive to ‘Blank Space’. Halfway through the song, some fans even started a mosh pit.
Ten songs into the set, Call It Off treated the crowd to the only original song of theirs that would be played tonight, ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss You’. Of course, not everyone was familiar with their music, so while people couldn’t sing along, they surely did clap along. They then continued with ‘The Black Dog’ and a shortened version of ‘So Long, London’ that smoothly transitioned into ‘Shake It Off’. Then, it was time for a Speak Now section that was, funnily enough, longer than the section Swift played on tour, as Call It Off included both ‘Enchanted’ as well as ‘Long Live’, a special moment for all the Swifties who hadn’t been able to hear this live. Bolier told the audience about how “there are moments in your life that really change things”. The singer lost his mother a year ago, and he talked about how he told her to “enjoy every day”. He wanted to dedicate the rest of ‘Long Live’ to her, the audience joining in by forming hearts in the sky with their hands.
The night was nearing its end. Call It Off played one more song from The Life of a Showgirl, ‘The Fate of Ophelia’, and asked the audience to do the accompanying dance. Not everyone was familiar with it, but at least no one was standing still. Finally, the band played ‘You Belong with Me’ – and yes, the fans knew about the double-clap – and ‘Love Story’. For those of you who might have become intrigued by this show and want to relive ‘The Eras Tour’, Call It Off will be visiting more cities. Not only will they be playing more shows in the Netherlands, but also in Germany and Switzerland. Tickets can be bought here.
