Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

I am hardly what I would consider to be in the "Taylor Swift" demographic. A man past 70. But a female friend of mine liked it, and I like music so I went to see it tonight.

This is called the "Eras Tour" because the 3 hour show is divided into the various eras of her songwriting, with different stage sets and dress for each "era".

I read a few weeks ago, in the WSJ of all places, a bit about her tour - requiring 50 semis to carry all of the stage equipment from city to city. I was thinking just of the logistics and of all the people "behind the scenes" who put all of this together.

When you see the show, you wonder how they could do all of this in 50 trucks.

This was filmed at the last stop of her tour, the Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.

It was sold out.

The visuals are spectacular, the costumes, sets, and of course her music.

And you are right on stage with her.

It isn't simply a recording of the show with 2 or 3 cameras angles but a very well thought out production and with a mystery to me, not an external camera in sight as you see various angles of the massive stage.

Very well done in all respects.

Not only were Swift's tickets expensive as hell (700+ for a VIP. What?) but I would have had to travel to a different city and stay the night in a hotel to see the concert.

Not worth it.

So I was really pleased when Swift announced a movie of her 3 hour long concert for theaters.

And boy was this amazing.

The sets, the costumes, the lighting, the props and the videos were absolutely sublime and gorgeous to look at. The dancers and the backup singers gave it their all in their choreography and singing.

And then there's Taylor herself.

Her goofy, lovable personality was on full display, as well as her prowess and blooming confidence as she strutted the stage in hella sparkly costumes crooning out all of her best hits from all her albums.

Had I been there, no doubt my bank account would have been empty and I would have ended up being squeezed with a bunch of Swifties, barely catching a glimpse of the songstress. Instead, the camera focuses lovingly on Taylor from all angles throughout the show. And no extra charge for a pair of glasses. Plus I giggled as the ardent Swifties in the cinema got up from their seats to dance and form circles in front of their beloved.

Great choice to film and to share it in the cinema. :)

I mildly-enjoy one or two songs from her music (kinda of)... a friend dragged me to this. She's so beige. There is nothing exciting about her or her music. Every song sounds exactly the same. SO BORED! Please be more original. I am not a hater. But her ego is clearly inflated. Everyone is clearly entranced and so involved in her multiple boyfriend drama like she's your BFF. Get over yourselves. She doesn't care. This is just a money making grab and people are so into it. It's like a cult. It's sickening. Why waste the time? Just watch it for free in 2 weeks when the ratings crash and it goes to some free streaming service.

I'd never really paid attention to Taylor Swift until I saw a documentary about the album she recorded during the pandemic. Her thoughtfulness and talent were a revelation.

And then ... I watched this! Just an amazing display of talent by everyone involved. The stage production had, for me, the same feeling as evoked by those amazing opening night spectacles they always put on at the Olympics.

I utterly enjoyed the whole film and never felt impatient for the entire 3 hours (in itself an accomplishment!) The music everyone else seems to have memorized was mostly brand-new to me, and thoroughly enjoyable. What a musician and lyricist!

In short: Taylor Swift blew me away.

Just to give you an idea from where I came from to write this review: I'm a head banger. I'm an Iron Maiden, Death, Kreator fan. I like heavy rift, yealling and impressive guitar solos...

Yet, I had a very good time enjoying this concert film. It is technically speaking the best concert show I've ever watched. Very good sound editing and camera angle shot. The movie is very immersive and provided the viewer with a unique up close point of view that uou would not get other wise.

As for the music, Taylor Swift have a wide range of musical genre that can please a lot of different group. She is a top notch performer that never missed a beat or a note.

And most importantly, she know what her fans want and she give them exactly that.