The Eras Tour: an outsider's perspective
I was never really the biggest fan of Taylor Swift, the stars just never aligned for me to get into her music. For years, I was unaware of the clues, the eras, the drama, that pastel-colored snakes; I heard hits on the radio like “22,” “You Belong With Me,” and “Bad Blood,” but nothing more. This changed fairly recently, as the hype for the pop icon's most recent tour, the Eras Tour, was near-inescapable over the summer and into the fall.
I watched the “Swifties” from my little space on the internet as they exchanged friendship bracelets and danced in jubilation to the absolute bops of their great queen, en masse, at massive coliseums. Even one of my favorite filmmakers, Paul Schrader, gave “T-Swizzle” praise, saying that “she is the light that gives meaning to each of our lives, the godhead who makes existence possible and without whom we would wander forever in bleak unimaginable darkness.” That, from the prolific writer of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Mishima: a Life in Four Chapters, is some high praise indeed!
As a result, I decided to take my first step into the larger world. I drove to Geneseo Theaters and purchased a ticket to a 3 p.m. screening of the filmed version, The Eras Tour. I was amazed by the commitment to the bit, with the ticket costing $19.89 (a reference to Swift’s birth year and album of the same name), and the film only showing on screens 1 and 3 (a reference to Swift’s lucky number, 13). Strangely enough, I was in the theater alone, subverting my expectations of being surrounded by excited fans, dancing in circles along the theater’s aisles and in front of the screen. It was only me and the screen.
With a runtime of nearly three hours, The Eras Tour is one of the longest concert films ever made, a far cry from Stop Making Sense’s 88-minute runtime or Swift’s Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, at 105 minutes. Most of the time, I was hooked and tapping my foot to the unquestionable bangers of the Taylors’ different eras. Yet, even so, I would catch myself wondering how much time had passed. Now, in my defense, I am an outsider to all of this and only know that Midnights is one of the most recent Taylor Swift albums. I will say, however, that each “era” felt like a natural progression and was distinct from the other, evident in the numerous radical changes Swift has gone through throughout her career.
If you need more clarity, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is beyond impressive. Immediately, I was flooded with awe at the sheer scale of the performance. The background dancers were so talented, individualized, and easily recognizable, and the sheer physicality of Taylor Swift is undoubtedly infectious. I completely understood the hype. Also, I surprisingly enjoyed the live versions of most of the songs more than the standard versions I heard numerous times on the radio. The consistent technical soundness of the production was applaudable, with the rising platforms and seamless fusion of form and function of Swift’s various outfits, suits, and dresses, not to mention the ingenious use of l.e.d. Wristbands synched up to the performance, making the audience feel as though they were not just spectators, but part of the show itself.
Out of all of the eras featured in Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, my personal favorite was Evermore. This was primarily due to the extremely pleasing woodland aesthetic of the segment’s production design. The song that stood out the most to me in this era was “willow.” Now, I’m not a music critic by any means, but the song reminded me of the songs on which Led Zeppelin took influence from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien; contained within the piece were acoustic guitar strings that sounded mysterious, intriguing, and mystical in a manner that felt like it was sweeping the listener in, like how the speaker in the song is swept up into their new lover. Plus, the synchronized percussion and bass hits in the latter half of the songs made it difficult not to tap your foot or nod your head!
Other notable moments throughout the runtime of the film that I was thoroughly impressed by included the fantastic synth hits during “You Need To Calm Down,” the transition from “Don’t Blame Me” to “Look What You Made Me Do,” and just all of “Champagne Problems.” While I could never feel the excitement one more well-versed in Swift’s discography would feel from one of the surprise performances, as an outsider, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a clear display of the unmatched charisma and near-endless talent from one of our generation’s most iconic performers!
Bravo—I finally see the appeal and have officially become a “Swiftie.”
Thumbnail Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons