LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For Crystal Galloway of North Carolina, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour was major.
CRYSTAL GALLOWAY: It'd be a chance for me to reconnect with some of my friends that live across the country and are Swift fans. It was really exciting to me.
FADEL: Galloway was determined to go and sing along with thousands of other Swifties to her favorite song.
GALLOWAY: No. 1, I was most excited for "Cruel Summer" from "Lover." It's an absolute summer bop with one of the best bridges of all time, and I could not wait to be screaming in a stadium.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard? He looks up grinning like a devil. It's new.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's on the radio...
FADEL: Girls.
INSKEEP: ...In my car for my kids. Anyway...
FADEL: You love it, Steve. It's not your kids. Don't even.
INSKEEP: She's good. Anyway, this is a story about concertgoers like Galloway who had all this anticipation for the concert. But you ask her now what she enjoyed most, and she'll tell you that there are some things she cannot recall.
GALLOWAY: When I looked over the setlist, there were some songs - like, "Wildest Dreams" is one of my favorites from "1989." I could not place a memory to that, no matter how hard I tried, and it was bizarre.
INSKEEP: Turns out a lot of concertgoers have a hard time recalling what they saw or heard, like Cheynie Singleton, who went to see SZA in Virginia.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "KILL BILL")
SZA: (Singing) I might. I might kill my ex. Not the best idea.
INSKEEP: "Kill Bill" - that's another one that I know.
FADEL: Singleton says she doesn't even recognize videos from that concert on her own phone.
CHEYNIE SINGLETON: Me and my friend both were just, like, jaws dropped, like, zoning out. I have videos from when she first came on stage, but I don't even remember, like, recording those videos.
FADEL: So how could fans forget such big moments? We asked Robert Kraft. He's a professor of cognitive psychology at Otterbein University.
ROBERT KRAFT: I think afterwards they're experiencing normal memory. I know that it's been called post-concert amnesia, and I think that has to do with our expectations of memory being too high and maybe not knowing exactly how memory works.
INSKEEP: Kraft says concertgoers should not be discouraged if they can't recall everything because they're not supposed to.
KRAFT: Not remembering is actually a tribute to being in the moment and fully appreciating the music.
INSKEEP: Galloway and Singleton say they do have great concert memories, even if there is some blank space.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLANK SPACE")
SWIFT: (Singing) But I've got a blank space, baby, and I'll write your name. Cherry lips, crystal skies, I could show you incredible things. Stolen kisses, pretty lies, you're the king, baby. I'm your queen. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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