Some Thoughts On The Eras Tour Film

Hi, it’s me, a veteran gig-goer, film fan, and card(igan)-carrying Swiftie, here to break down the Eras tour movie and tell you what you want to know, whichever category you belong with me in. Beware setlist spoilers and biased criticism ahead.

• This film is sponsored by Sofi Stadium. I lost count of flashes of their logo, but it made me laugh from the very first one: we see Sofi before we see Taylor. Sofi should know, by the way, that I have been to the Ricoh arena for gigs perhaps six times and only found out who Ricoh were when I worked for a stationers’ magazine. I hope Sofi customers don’t mind the markup their goods must have to afford not simply the stadium but its exposure in this film…
• The editing could be studied, and not in a good way – the Reputation era was (imo) almost ruined by frenetic cuts which undercut the energy within the performance, and throughout there appeared to be a phobia of lingering on a long take. The unusual camerawork in the Folklore set is understandable because of the cabin, and the editors did do the best possible work there, perhaps finding the limitation beneficial? Their awareness of the cinematic possibilities of a concert film are clear: almost immediately after the best shot of the film (during Mastermind), they were so proud of themselves they showed a near identical shot, massively dampening its impact. The film generally suffers from Live and Dangerous syndrome: by weaving together three nights in pursuit of perfection we cut between straight hair and natural curls, a perfect manicure and chipped nails, making it slightly uncanny and encouraging the audience to spot tells rather than sitting back and enjoying the performance. My guess is that the editing was done by multiple people because the film happened so fast: strong moments like Folklore were perhaps worked on by the more experienced team members, though I found myself consistently wishing that the editing was different from Lover even through Midnights. An SNL performance shouldn’t be better than the official film, but if the team had watched it and read the comments (‘it doesn’t feel like 10 minutes’) perhaps they would have been less afraid to let the camera linger?
• Conversely, the sound is mixed really well: I’ve seen the Eras tour already, but with screaming crowds and mainly recorded on iPhones, so hearing Swift’s vocals and the guitar solos in high definition is incredible, and being able to hear every instrument in isolation and harmony was amazing.
• It was absolutely worth seeing in IMAX – the picture quality was amazing, and it really gave a sense of scale to the production.
• I was in tears by Cruel Summer. If you know the show at all, you know how early this was, and hopefully this means I won’t cry in front of my friends when I see it live next year, though with Marjorie on the setlist I won’t hold my breath for that… My own personal cry points were Cruel Summer, Marjorie and YOYK, which I feel is restrained and entirely fair as an emotional response.
• Swifties are the best and worst of people. During YOYOK, played on the piano as part of the acoustic set, two people broke the raputurous silence of the whole rest of the cinema – repeatedly! – to swap bracelets, not noticing me openly weeping behind them at this quiet and profound moment. They were looking for a moment to connect, and I was revelling in the appropriateness and pathos of the song – both reasonable reactions. Whilst this was all appropriate enough, this moment does highlight that the Eras film is a much more private activity than a live show, or even than the grainy livestreams we all watched at the beginning of the tour and the YouTube videos where we tried to gather a whole night in piecemeal chunks, all shot from different seats. There was minimal singing, no standing (banned at the BFI IMAX due to strong slope, does not bode well for my Wembley experience next year where I know the slope is even stronger and the fall even further…), no costumes (though merch was seen). People were not making friends and dancing or even really sharing the experience with the friends or family they’d come with. This is not the definitive way to enjoy the Eras tour so much as a fresh experience for fans – I would bet that everybody in that theatre (chaperones perhaps excepted, though tbh I find this unlikely) had seen clips, costumes, setlists etc well in advance of the film. It is also the most proper cinema experience I’ve had in a while: the Swifties had enough respect to not use their phones at all, to (mostly) not feel the need to talk, and to applaud the projectionist. We take Taylor Swift media seriously in all formats.
• Debut TV is going to be amazing. The quality of her old songs with the power of her new voice is such an exciting prospect. I also found myself fascinated by where we could hear twangs of Tennessee in her accent: not where you’d think at all! We all laugh when Taylor categorises herself as Southern in any way, but there’s no denying she has spent a lot of time in Nashville. I pray for a Debut song in one of my shows.
• This is absolutely, unapologetically a greatest hits tour film. The setlist is mainly singles, even the acoustic portion is a single and a ‘fan favourite’ song that did numbers on streaming, and some of the most exciting things that had Swiftie social media abuzz – like the graphics and the scene transitions – are missing. It’s a testament to Swift’s career so far more than anything else. There are no guest sets, no celebrity fans (Kobe Bryant’s young daughter excepted, and tbh I’m glad a child who’s being protected from the perils of fame already is the one featured), and several sections where Swift holds the whole stadium crowd without backup dancers or even a band.
• Wonka is entirely unsalvageable, I want to see everything in the Powell and Pressburger season, and watches are cinema apparently? It’s been a long time since I saw a film commercial enough to have mainstream trailers and that was fun, I didn’t even know Aquaman had a film, let alone a second one.
• My ultimate takeway is that you already know if you want to see the film, if you’ll wait for streaming whilst watching Rep and Speak Now tours, or if 2.5hrs of pop music makes you want to roll your eyes, and if you’re exited to see it, the cinema version will not let you down. The only people I would recommend this to who aren’t necessarily queuing to buy tickets are Springsteen fans, who will respect how hard the music and stagecraft goes, as well as Taylor’s rapport with her veteran guitarist and bandleader Paul Sidoti, and fashion fans, who will respect the high definition glances at the Lover Versace necklace and the movement in the Nicole + Felicia ballgown (is she wearing a crinoline??). What I can say is, if you think you want to see this, whether Swiftie or local it’ll be worth the trip out, but you should fill in the gaps by looking them up on YouTube, and if you’re a Swiftie who’s new to this you should check out other classic live shows and get into more music, more films, and more chatting to people about Taylor Swift, because she really is a hell of a gateway.

On This Topic:

• If you’re ready to use Taylor Swift as a gateway, I compiled a list of books for Swifties – from recommendations she’s directly made to references in her songs.
• There’s also some classic live music you could turn to: my favourite E Street Band radio recording, the godmother of pop’s iconic tour film, the controversial Thin Lizzy album I referenced earlier, and an iconic film that was recently rereleased if you’ve fallen in love with watching your concerts in the cinema. There’s also the evergreen series, MTV Unplugged, A Colours Show, and Tiny Desk Concerts in case you don’t know what you like yet.
• If you’re not ready to leave Eras behind yet, though, here’s all the acoustic sets so far.

To-Do:

• Book the last of the birthday things (yay!)
• Text my friends back (oops)
• Finish PhD chapter one (this is the pit I’ve fallen into that have caused the delays on the other two)

Today’s Culture:

• Have candles in your house in case your entire building loses power and you need light to do the crossword by whilst you wait for your takeout because you can’t cook. This is a hypothetical situation, of course. Thanks to Flying Tiger for the candles.
• I love live music a lot and will take this opportunity to share my personal best ofs for the last band I saw (The National) and the next artist I’m seeing (Lloyd Cole).
• I am, of course, listening to a lot of Taylor Swift post Eras (inter Eras? I am seeing it LIVE next year…). Now that the temperatures have dropped, Evermore feels appropriate again.