Taylor Swift has spent the last two years re-recording her albums and releasing her titles under the same names but with the inclusion of Taylor’s Version . To accompany these re-releases, Swift has embarked on a history making Eras Tour in USA and Europe. Tickets to this tour are like gold dust and with many fans entering what can only be described as the hunger games of concert ticketing. This tour has already gained traction on social media as a show where Taylor journeys through her different eras of music from her debut to her recent release of Midnights. The Eras Tour show in Los Angeles was recorded for fans to enjoy for a limited time only in cinemas internationally through the VUE and Odeon cinemas released on 13th October 2023.
1.2.3…REVIEW
I’ve never attended a Taylor Swift concert and despite being a fan I have only watched the Reputation Stadium Tour featured on Netflix and watched various live recordings online. So I went into the cinema without any inclination of what might be involved, I knew that this tour is one that showcases Taylor’s breadth and depth of musical evolution, but how this was exactly going to be translated to the stage was a mystery. The showing is only for a limited time through October and into early November with exclusive Taylor Swift Eras Tour merchandise sold at participating cinemas. Unfortunately, the popcorn bucket and cup was sold out and I had a feeling it would as it is coming to the end of its run. Albeit disappointing it didn’t spoil my afternoon. So I settled into my recliner seat with my popcorn and waited for the show to start. Roughly the set time was around 3 hours, definitely much longer than an average concert, but Taylor had a lot of ground to cover. From the start, Taylor had incredible energy and charisma that helped her command the stage starting with Lover and transitioning into Fearless. The pacing was just right between these eras where Swift orchestrated high-energy tracks like Cruel Summer and You belong with me with the ballads of Willow and Champagne Problems. I particularly enjoyed the aesthetics of Tolerate it where Swift orchestrated a dinner table and an unhappy relationship. Swift danced upon the table and sang with emotion that sold the story created in her lyrics, and this was the same when singing tracks from Folklore. The audience was then whip-lashed into Reputation that was one of my favourite eras of the show. I love the edgier nature of the album and the choreography and stage design for Look what you made me do was particularly impactful where dancers dressed up as previous Swift eras that echoed the iconic music video. I could feel her anger and passion through the screen – it gave me chills. Every era following this from Red, 1989, Folklore and Midnights ended the show with energy, passion and fun. It was very clear how much fan Taylor and her backing dancers were having on stage.
Taylor is clearly a mastermind when organising this show, but I would have enjoyed some on-screen visuals to help the audience transition between eras. At points, it was one era after another without anything to signify how the audience is journeying through her career, especially as the eras were not in order of release (not that they needed to be performed chronologically). This is my only critique in terms of staging.
Final thoughts
The eras tour was just as breathtaking as I hoped and being able to watch this show on the big screen at the cinema was an afternoon well spent. Taylor truly is a mastermind with each song seamlessly blending into another to create beautiful transitions that encapsulate how hard she works. The show was well-thought out and while its hard to choose a favourite song, i did love the whole Reputation segment, Midnights and 1989 were fantastic and Folklore and Evermore added a slower pace to give a perfect balance. Now if you excuse me, I shall be listening to the latest re-record release – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) for the foreseeable future.
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