I'm very jealous of those seats. Great article, it's always interesting to see where Taylor goes next, even if I think the only Taylor albums I've wholly liked since 1989 were the two COVID releases. I didn't know you had published academic writing on Swift. I did my undergraduate dissertation on her relationship with race and gender. I imagine your article would have been very useful to read back then.
Here to just say these photos are magnificent! They sort of remind me of the ones I took during U2’s last concert run in Montreal, which ALSO leads to the question of where they go from here. But this is such a blast to read AND witness through photos. May the odds with your accountant be ever in your favour.
Great piece, Myles! I lucked my way into two obstructed-view, face-value seats for Detroit in the ticket drop the Thursday before the show. As someone who only really started listening to her after falling in love with Folklore and Evermore, I did enjoy the show as a whole (though it did drag during "eras" I cared less about). Still, I think my girlfriend found the Fearless and especially the Speak Now sections lacking. Though, we did get a Fearless song as a surprise song so that might've helped a little?
Having avoided setlist "spoilers," I was surprised to see so many big singles from the Red-1989-Rep era. I was expecting deeper cuts, but I guess that would dilute the ongoing anticipation of the surprise songs?
I was not expecting a thoughtful write-up of Taylor Swift's Eras show with fantastic pictures on this film/TV blog, but hell yeah! I just saw her in Chicago a couple weeks ago, and I'll be seeing her again in L.A. (with HAIM, so I expect we'll get "No Body, No Crime" in the set). I was impressed with the scope of the show, though I agree with you that it was a missed opportunity for more deep cuts! I did get several non-singles I wasn't expecting like "Enchanted" (apparently she only did one song from Speak Now because she hadn't released the TV yet and thus it, along with her absent debut, is an album she hasn't reclaimed yet) and "My Tears Ricochet," but I'm jealous you got "State of Grace" on Reputation, even though I hadn't even heard that song when I saw her then, because I love it now. (Speaking of Reputation...did she do the 10-minute "All Too Well" then?? I saw her live and watched the Netflix concert film, WHICH WAS RECORDED THE NIGHT I WAS THERE, and I don't remember it being the longer version! Huh.)
I'm a big Fearless fan, but "The Best Day" and "Hey Stephen" are two of my least favorite tracks on the album, so even I would have been somewhat bummed by those secret songs, ha! We won the secret song lottery and got TWO live debuts in "Hits Different" and "The Moment I Knew." I'm curious what she'll even have left by the time she gets to L.A. I would love "You're on Your Own, Kid," fucking love that song.
I meant “All Too Well” generally, not the 10-minute version - she just very clearly acknowledges it as her biggest non-single before playing the original version.
"But as I spent an hour trying to get out of the parking lot and five hours driving back from Philadelphia since she for some reason skipped D.C. ..."
Same reason the FIFA World Cup won't be in DC in three years time: FedEx Field is a dump and nearly impossible to get to. I'm dreading the drive home next Saturday when I see Ed Sheeran there.
Speaking of NFL stadiums though, Myles (and other Swift fans): what do you think the chances are that she performs the Super Bowl halftime show next year? My friend who's both a huge NFL and Swift fan (and I believe was at your same show Myles), thinks it's unlikely she does it this year right after this tour. But clearly that is a feather in her cap she is missing compared to people like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, or Katy Perry. So it'll probably happen sooner rather than later.
As for the Super Bowl: she will always have an open invitation, and will 100% be the first choice until she says yes or another sponsor in direct competition with a brand deal takes over. Until we have greater clarity on how it matters to her, hard to say how likely she is to do something that she in no way “needs.”
Is it more hateful toward your fans to make them drive an extra 2 hours, or to make them go to a show at FedEx? This is the question. (His show being announced so soon after hers was whiplash as I tried to puzzle that out).
It’s probably me being irrational, but I don’t see why she couldn’t just play National’s Park like she has in the past. I’ve seen Swift, Paul McCartney, and Billy Joel there, and I know Springsteen’s played there too. I’m mostly just bitter lol.
I think with the stage setup as it is, she DOES sort of require the longitudinal depth a football stadium offers. Although Canada is going to create a problem in this case, as she has still been playing the SkyDome during past stadium tours.
I've come a long ways since my punk days when I sneeringly dismissed any and all pop music and now genuinely enjoy a fair bit of Swift's catalogue, but seeing someone charge hundreds of dollars a ticket for a venue that fits 70,000+ people just brings it all back. What does she need that money for? The Fugazi boys made a fine living charging $5 a show. I get that the production of this kind of thing is obviously infinitely more expensive, but there's a point where pop excess just gets absurd, and this tour seems to have zoomed right past that.
Even if she did, wouldn't the scalpers just buy up a bunch of the tickets and charge outrageous prices anyways? The market dictates the prices. I think a lot of the musicians, sound mixers, dancers, roadies etc. would have their pay suffer if that did happen also. I just read Dean Wareham's (from Luna and Galaxie 500, Dean & Britta) excellent autobiography Black Postcards (possibly from someone here mentioning it), and it's pretty eye opening about the business side of music. He does mention Fugazi and how their business model probably wouldn't work for everyone, but I was really surprised how much Luna struggled even though at the time I would have assumed they were a moderately successful indie band.
Nice article! Just a couple small fact checks as a hardcore Swiftie: She already performed You're On Your Own, Kid as a surprise song on night 2 in Tampa, although she made a "rule" that she can repeat songs from Midnights (although she hasn't actually done so yet), so hopefully we'll get it again! Also her openers for this tour aren't all female, Owenn is male (and formerly one of her backup dancers, and co-star in the Lover music video!).
I'm very jealous of those seats. Great article, it's always interesting to see where Taylor goes next, even if I think the only Taylor albums I've wholly liked since 1989 were the two COVID releases. I didn't know you had published academic writing on Swift. I did my undergraduate dissertation on her relationship with race and gender. I imagine your article would have been very useful to read back then.
Here to just say these photos are magnificent! They sort of remind me of the ones I took during U2’s last concert run in Montreal, which ALSO leads to the question of where they go from here. But this is such a blast to read AND witness through photos. May the odds with your accountant be ever in your favour.
Great piece, Myles! I lucked my way into two obstructed-view, face-value seats for Detroit in the ticket drop the Thursday before the show. As someone who only really started listening to her after falling in love with Folklore and Evermore, I did enjoy the show as a whole (though it did drag during "eras" I cared less about). Still, I think my girlfriend found the Fearless and especially the Speak Now sections lacking. Though, we did get a Fearless song as a surprise song so that might've helped a little?
Having avoided setlist "spoilers," I was surprised to see so many big singles from the Red-1989-Rep era. I was expecting deeper cuts, but I guess that would dilute the ongoing anticipation of the surprise songs?
I was not expecting a thoughtful write-up of Taylor Swift's Eras show with fantastic pictures on this film/TV blog, but hell yeah! I just saw her in Chicago a couple weeks ago, and I'll be seeing her again in L.A. (with HAIM, so I expect we'll get "No Body, No Crime" in the set). I was impressed with the scope of the show, though I agree with you that it was a missed opportunity for more deep cuts! I did get several non-singles I wasn't expecting like "Enchanted" (apparently she only did one song from Speak Now because she hadn't released the TV yet and thus it, along with her absent debut, is an album she hasn't reclaimed yet) and "My Tears Ricochet," but I'm jealous you got "State of Grace" on Reputation, even though I hadn't even heard that song when I saw her then, because I love it now. (Speaking of Reputation...did she do the 10-minute "All Too Well" then?? I saw her live and watched the Netflix concert film, WHICH WAS RECORDED THE NIGHT I WAS THERE, and I don't remember it being the longer version! Huh.)
I'm a big Fearless fan, but "The Best Day" and "Hey Stephen" are two of my least favorite tracks on the album, so even I would have been somewhat bummed by those secret songs, ha! We won the secret song lottery and got TWO live debuts in "Hits Different" and "The Moment I Knew." I'm curious what she'll even have left by the time she gets to L.A. I would love "You're on Your Own, Kid," fucking love that song.
I meant “All Too Well” generally, not the 10-minute version - she just very clearly acknowledges it as her biggest non-single before playing the original version.
Ah, okay! Thanks for the clarification. I know there's a history of her being terrible at choosing singles, heh.
As an accountant, let me strongly encourage you to get one. I don't do tax, or I would help
"But as I spent an hour trying to get out of the parking lot and five hours driving back from Philadelphia since she for some reason skipped D.C. ..."
Same reason the FIFA World Cup won't be in DC in three years time: FedEx Field is a dump and nearly impossible to get to. I'm dreading the drive home next Saturday when I see Ed Sheeran there.
Speaking of NFL stadiums though, Myles (and other Swift fans): what do you think the chances are that she performs the Super Bowl halftime show next year? My friend who's both a huge NFL and Swift fan (and I believe was at your same show Myles), thinks it's unlikely she does it this year right after this tour. But clearly that is a feather in her cap she is missing compared to people like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, or Katy Perry. So it'll probably happen sooner rather than later.
Update: she’s in Tokyo for four days before the Super Bowl, so it’s a no for ‘24.
As for the Super Bowl: she will always have an open invitation, and will 100% be the first choice until she says yes or another sponsor in direct competition with a brand deal takes over. Until we have greater clarity on how it matters to her, hard to say how likely she is to do something that she in no way “needs.”
Is it more hateful toward your fans to make them drive an extra 2 hours, or to make them go to a show at FedEx? This is the question. (His show being announced so soon after hers was whiplash as I tried to puzzle that out).
It’s probably me being irrational, but I don’t see why she couldn’t just play National’s Park like she has in the past. I’ve seen Swift, Paul McCartney, and Billy Joel there, and I know Springsteen’s played there too. I’m mostly just bitter lol.
I think with the stage setup as it is, she DOES sort of require the longitudinal depth a football stadium offers. Although Canada is going to create a problem in this case, as she has still been playing the SkyDome during past stadium tours.
I mean... the Canadian football stadiums could hold the stage, but not the fans required for a tour like this, unfortunately.
I've come a long ways since my punk days when I sneeringly dismissed any and all pop music and now genuinely enjoy a fair bit of Swift's catalogue, but seeing someone charge hundreds of dollars a ticket for a venue that fits 70,000+ people just brings it all back. What does she need that money for? The Fugazi boys made a fine living charging $5 a show. I get that the production of this kind of thing is obviously infinitely more expensive, but there's a point where pop excess just gets absurd, and this tour seems to have zoomed right past that.
Even if she did, wouldn't the scalpers just buy up a bunch of the tickets and charge outrageous prices anyways? The market dictates the prices. I think a lot of the musicians, sound mixers, dancers, roadies etc. would have their pay suffer if that did happen also. I just read Dean Wareham's (from Luna and Galaxie 500, Dean & Britta) excellent autobiography Black Postcards (possibly from someone here mentioning it), and it's pretty eye opening about the business side of music. He does mention Fugazi and how their business model probably wouldn't work for everyone, but I was really surprised how much Luna struggled even though at the time I would have assumed they were a moderately successful indie band.
Nice article! Just a couple small fact checks as a hardcore Swiftie: She already performed You're On Your Own, Kid as a surprise song on night 2 in Tampa, although she made a "rule" that she can repeat songs from Midnights (although she hasn't actually done so yet), so hopefully we'll get it again! Also her openers for this tour aren't all female, Owenn is male (and formerly one of her backup dancers, and co-star in the Lover music video!).
“You’re at the Chromatica Ball but do you know Chromatica?”