Concert Recap: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour
Review by Angelina Singer
From Fearless to folklore, and everything in between, Taylor Swift is known for curating an incredible array of music to dazzle audiences across America with her wit and honesty. The Eras Tour was no exception to the trend. With dazzling visual displays spanning every era and glittering costumes that paid homage to each of her releases, Taylor knows how to put on an incredible show. I was lucky enough to attend the final night of the Foxborough, Massachusetts residency on Sunday, May 21st (which was, coincidentally, the 13th show she’s played at the Gillette Stadium). She’s previously admitted, by the way, that Gillette Stadium has been her favorite venue since the renowned rain show of the Speak Now Tour in 2011.
Any Swiftie worth half their sparkles knows how important the number 13 is to Taylor, so I knew I was in for a very special night. Opening acts Gracie Abrams and Phoebe Bridgers also brought their musical stylings to the tour, providing a wonderful appetizer to the audio and visual feast that the Massachusetts Swifties were in for. I enjoyed hearing some songs by Gracie that were familiar to me, including “Block Me Out” — plus Bridgers’ popular earworm “Motion Sickness”. However, I found the chill track and the others that followed it amusing after Phoebe’s Disturbed intro played over the speakers (even if the irony of oppositional genres wasn’t lost on me). Then the main event began.
Here's how everything worked: Taylor appeared after opening the show with the dreamlike, dazzling Vegas fan show of the Lover album while pre-recorded vocals “It’s been a long time coming” floated over the speakers. Then the Eras house materialized on the main screen of the stage, showing the different albums that would be acknowledged. As she worked through songs and elements from each era, everything flowed and moved together in a satisfying symphony of colors, lights, and special effects that spared no expense. Especially striking were the pyrotechnics during “Bad Blood” and the way Taylor expertly-wove costume changes into the set without sacrificing the momentum of the spectacle.
Every song was a dazzling visual display of interactive stage elements, from the shattered floor of “Delicate” to the bona-fide high-end main stage animations accompanying the chilling storytelling of “Last Great American Dynasty”. From my field seat about 20 feet away from the end of the runway stage, I had to rely on the monitors to see the floor effects — but the main stage screen was perfectly in-view. Props and structures carried the show from different worlds — I loved the cottage-core aesthetic of the folklore world, while 3D digital effects conveyed the coldness of more dramatic songs like “tolerate it” by portraying the feeling of winter spent in a icebox-like dining room across from an aloof love interest. Honorable mention also goes to the amped-up emotional ordeal that was the sadly shortened version of “illicit affairs”. Taylor really brought everything she had onto that stage all night, but this one was dramatically gut-wrenching, an incredible witness of her heart and emotional literacy. Her ghastly image superimposed onto the main screen was nothing short of surreal layered against the swirling black-and-white cloud imagery.
Even the simple, less-flashy moments were still magical. I loved hearing Phoebe Bridgers join Taylor on stage to sing their vault track from Red together — “Nothing New”. As Taylor explained, this was a song she wrote when she was 22, terrified of people losing interest in her as she aged. But that hasn’t happened yet, and I don’t see any signs of it any time soon either. The bridge of this song has always been a stand-out moment for me, as it brings a voyeuristic quality to the speaker with lyrics like “I know someday I'm gonna meet her, it's a fever dream /
The kind of radiance you only have at 17 / She'll know the way, and then she'll say she got the map from me / I'll say I'm happy for her, then I'll cry myself to sleep.” As everyone is on their own life’s journey, remembering where you came from is equally as important as where you’re going.
The only critique I have about the show, was that Taylor didn’t hide the fact she favors certain albums. While I was hoping to deep-dive (pun fully intended to reference her intro into Midnights) into some of her nostalgic fan favorites from Fearless, Speak Now, and her debut album, these portions were cut short if they were present at all. While Fearless had three songs represented, Speak Now was a measly portion of “Enchanted”, and she didn’t even touch her debut album. However, as one of my fellow Swiftie friends pointed out, it appears she’d been pulling from her debut album often for the surprise song portion of the show. So I get it, but still suggest that vault songs would’ve been great content for this instead to preserve the era as its own part of the show. I also would’ve liked a more even spread throughout all the eras to create a sense of balance between the styles and life seasons that came with them. But it’s understandable that Taylor’s more proud of her more recent work. After all, it’s been a long time since she’s had new material and a place to play live. Her excitement was palpable all night and it was a pleasure to share in her upbeat energy.
My favorite portions of the show were when Taylor’s genuine personality shined through. She took ample opportunity to tell the audience, that no matter how many times she performs, “I can’t believe this is real.” Taylor was equally perplexed by her seemingly-haunted piano that was playing notes all by itself — an unfortunate consequence of the rain show from the night prior. “It was literally underwater… This is broken. I’m just gonna get the guitar, it’s gonna be fine.” While “Red” is a classic hit that is easily one of my personal favorites, I was happy to hear it played on acoustic guitar. Even Taylor admitted we were spared from a very sad piano version. I’m sure it would’ve been beautiful either way, but I’m a sucker for the sprightly, energetic versions of my favorite songs.
As the Eras Tour came to a close, a satisfied energy emanated from the audience. I was exhausted, but thrilled. After all, I got to see Taylor herself reflect on her own journey, and then bring us all along for the ride. And what an incredible ride it was. If you have a chance to be a part of The Eras Tour, I highly recommend it. Even though she’s easily one of (if not) the most successful artists currently touring, you’ll want to savor every moment and get ready for whatever the blonde songstress dreams up next.
