4.5 out of 5 stars
After 57 shows and counting across 21 North American cities and five continents, six months of touring and thousands of friendship bracelets, Taylor Swift topped off her tour by releasing “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” and I’m all here for it.
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is the perfect opportunity for Swifties who couldn’t attend the concert to join in on the fun for a cheaper price. Those who did attend a live performance can relive the excitement of the concert.
The film captures Swift’s almost three-hour performance of 40 songs spanning across all ten of her albums. While it’s not the same experience as seeing her live, the film provides an uninterrupted show with no distractions as well as close-ups of Swift and her dancers.
I saw Swift perform at the Minneapolis show on June 24, and while it was an amazing experience, I missed some of the artful details from my seat, which was far from the stage.
Swift is known for putting on quite a show, with theater-like performances and seemingly endless costume changes. It’s just as much about the visuals as it is the music. When watching the film, the audience is able to appreciate the beauty of the set, dancers and special effects that might have been overlooked in person.
Tickets for the film cost $19.89, a reference to her fifth studio album, which is more expensive than a typical movie ticket.
However, tickets for the actual tour were originally hundreds of dollars and resold for thousands. While $19.89 may seem pricey for a movie ticket, it’s accessible to fans who couldn’t afford to attend a show.
Unfortunately, the film cut five songs: “The Archer,” “No Body, No Crime” (featuring Haim), “Long Live,” “Cardigan” and “Wildest Dreams.” Considering the film was already long, and the live performance was even longer, it couldn’t have hurt to include an extra fifteen minutes for the cut songs.
At each show, Swift performed two “surprise” songs that weren’t on the setlist. She performed them acoustically, and usually fans didn’t know what she was going to sing until her guitar was already in hand. For the film, Swift’s surprise songs were “Our Song” from her self-titled album and “You’re on Your Own, Kid” from her tenth album “Midnights.”
“You’re on Your Own, Kid” includes the line “make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it,” which sparked the inspiration for fans to make and trade friendship bracelets at the concert. Swift’s choice to include this song in the film was likely influenced by its correlation to the bracelets.
In promoting the film, Swift encouraged fans to dress up, trade friendship bracelets, sing and dance along to her songs in the theater. This unique theater experience allows fans to feel like they really were at the concert and strengthens the comradery between Swifties.
‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ is a perfect way to keep Swift’s fans occupied and entertained as we wait for the next leg of her tour to begin.
Photo from www.taylorswift.com.