Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour Is A 3-Hour Career Victory Lap – Rolling Stone
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
How do we measure a musician’s ubiquity in the cultural zeitgeist? Streams can be purchased. Prizes may be fixed. When a request for show tickets leads to a congressional hearing about Ticketmaster’s policies? Or when the flight attendants shout an enthusiast making a pilgrimage to see a tour opener? Or when the TikTok of merch inspirations and setlist announcements garners millions of views? Almost a decade ago, a headline declared, “Taylor Swift is the music industry,” and those with even the tiniest pulse in pop culture can tell you it’s been more ubiquitous since then. It all led to a hot afternoon in Glendale, Arizona, where a month after releasing his most commercially successful album to date, the midnightsSwift debuted a set list spanning more than three hours and kicked off her aptly named stadium run. Tour of the Ages has arrived
The sheer length of the set is a feat, but not entirely surprising given the breadth of the catalog at Swift’s disposal. The fact that the 12-time Grammy winner takes the stage at 8pm and continues past 11pm triggers the oft-overused cliché: who’s doing it like him?
After the night arrived and GAYLE and Paramore fired up the crowd (GAYLE’s “abcdefu”) and cultural anthems (Paramore’s “Misery Business”), it was time for the main event. At 7:57 p.m., a timer appeared on a massive screen, prompting screams from all corners of State Farm Stadium. Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” played as fans prepared for Swift’s arrival. When the timer struck 0:00, the house we saw in the music video for “Lover” was mounted on the screen, indicating that this evening, first of all, was to revive the feelings that each era evoked.
“So tonight, we’re going on an adventure, one era at a time,” Swift said. “We’re going to look at the last seventeen years of music that I’ve been lucky enough to make and that you’ve been kind enough to take care of.”
Taylor Swift performs on stage during the “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana
It’s easy to compare one of Swift’s stadium shows to something you’d see on Broadway; it has never been truer than that. Tour of the Ages. The set list is divided into acts, compiled from each of Swift’s ten studio albums. For each era/act, Swift included a full submission of that album’s look, feel, outfit, color block, and more.
Many times they got some songs. At one point, Swift seemed to have a soft side folklore it would mean that we would listen to the whole album. On the opposite end, speak now‘s was a short but impactful part of the show. Swift performed the single from her third studio album, “Enchanted,” wearing a stunning floor-length ball gown designed by Nicole + Derr. Jumping from one act to another, Swift made it very clear that she was taking the audience out of one era and into another. This isn’t a set list held together by a fuzzy thread of connective tissue — Swift is taking her audience on a nostalgic show.
For both Swift and her fans, it’s been a long road leading up to the start of The Eras Tour. Friday night’s opening was four projects, millions of records sold and more than 1,500 days removed from the last tour stop. the fame 2018 stadium tour. Also, who can forget Ticketmaster’s fiasco in handling ticket sales for The Eras Tour, which led to Swift not only apologizing for the ticket monopoly, but also being investigated by Congress.
Perhaps in a friendly nod to the canceled Lover Fest, Swift kicked things off with a bang. the lover Age. Wearing a stunning Versace bodysuit, Swift introduced herself to “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” for the opening number. Swifts eager to see “Cruel Summer” live were not disappointed, as Swift walked down the catwalk toward the center of the stadium, speeding away on the bridge, eager to make up for what stans have been missing out on due to pandemic-related cancellations.
In “The Man,” Swift accessorized her Versace look with a blazer and made sure everyone saw the red underneath as she propped her feet up on a conference room table to deliver a masterfully written and sharp assessment of gender inequality in pop culture. Meanwhile. Swift closed it the lover with period hits “You Need to Calm Down” and “The Archer,” the latter of which got a beautifully stripped-down rendition, Swift’s voice echoed through the stadium: “Because all my enemies started out as friends / Help hold me.”
Taylor Swift performs on stage during the “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana
At one point, Swift through his blows Without fear at the time, he flashed a smile and let the crowd know that they were taking us back to high school with him. Nostalgia permeated the show, and it was one of the loudest crowd engagements yet, especially among seniors who grew up with Swift and were in high school at the same time as her. The singer ran through “Fearless,” “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” recalling a time when we found ourselves unaware of the level of celebrity that would go on to become a pop phenomenon.
Something about Swift — it’s connected. If it wasn’t obvious enough that he decided to end TikTok’s “Karma” last night, he doesn’t like his joke. More hammers starting point.
“Today we are in the middle More album, an album that I absolutely love despite what some of you say on TikTok,” Swift said with a smile.
Later at the event, reserved for her ninth studio album, in keeping with how theatrical the event was, Swift created a beautiful dinner party atmosphere only to deliver a rousing rendition of “Tolerate It.” He also performed ‘Tis the Damn Season’, ‘Willow’, ‘Marjorie’ and ‘Champagne Problems’, giving fans a great taste. More to live The experience they could not get when the project came out in 2020.
For dedicated actions the fame and Red, fans were treated to a masterclass in visuals and hitmaking, two key elements that have ensured Swift’s long-running success for as long as she has. The powerful, eye-catching snake motifs were an awe-inspiring call for fans in attendance the fame tour
In fact Red, Swift’s “22,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.” She ended the event with a beautiful 10-minute performance of “Taylor’s Version” of “All Too Well.” In the evening’s most ethereal moment, tiny white confetti made to look like snow blanketed State Farm Stadium as he neared the end of his masterpiece, “In the barren cold of this city/I still remember the first snowfall/And how. it shone how it fell/I remember well”. Not only is Swift world-building savvy, but it has improved the ability to translate those worlds into live experience.
Swift wasn’t shy about making sure people complied folklore live experience A booth, not unlike the one at Swift’s 2021 Grammys performance, sat on stage as Swift sat on “Invisible String.” He discussed how the star ended up crafting narratives for purely fictional characters instead of ripping them from headlines about his own life.
Taylor Swift performs on stage during the “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana
“folklore it was such a different album for me. I start writing two seconds after the start of the pandemic. I was very aware of how much time I was going to have to spend away from you,” Swift explained of “Betty,” “The Last Great American Dynasty,” “August,” “Illicit Affairs,” “My. Tears Ricochet” and “Cardigan.” . “With this record, I thought it would be really fun to create characters and stories, and they can live in different times, and then they can do all these things, and they can fall in love and hurt each other and go to war. …”
the 1989s The period act got the party going and got the energy back, as Swift wore a Roberto Cavalli top and skirt and belted out “Style,” “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off,” “Wildest Dreams” and “Bad Blood.”
To end the evening, it was back to Swift the midnights, “Lavender Haze”, “Masmind” and more highlight the album. It was hard to ignore the singer’s gratitude throughout the evening, as the “thank yous” became more and more frequent as the evening drew to a close.
Finally, the singer asked the crowd if they had time for one more and launched into her finale, “Karma,” a song with a fervent chorus that begs to be screamed to a packed room of about 60,000 waiting people. exact time of year. Perhaps it’s only fitting that an artist who has had more than his share of ups and downs and has at times been the most polarizing musician alive ends his stadium tour with a song about how he can protect his peace. Karma is a soothing thought, indeed.
Tour of the Ages it’s a feat. It is live music at its most spectacular and most extravagant. And for most, without Swift’s catalog and shows, it would be too much. But 17 years into his career, maybe we should stop being surprised when he finds a way to surpass his efforts year after year. Towards the end of Paramore’s set, Swift’s good friend Hayley Williams said that we had gathered that evening to celebrate Swift’s incredible career. There’s something funny about a greatest hits concert for someone who’s never been in top shape, isn’t there?
Taylor Swift Glendale Setlist
“Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”
“Cruel Summer”
“Man”
“You need to take it easy”
“The Lover”
“The Archer”
“Without fear
“You’re with me”
“Love Story”
“Tis the Damned Season”
“The Willow”
“Marjorie”
“Champagne Trouble”
“tolerate it”
“…Ready for it?”
“Delicate”
“don’t blame”
“Look what you did to me”
“Bewitched”
“22”
“We’ll never get back together”
“I knew you were trouble”
“Too Good (10 Minute Version)”
“The Invisible Chain”
“Betty”
“The Last Great American Dynasty”
“August”
“Illegal Matters”
“My Tears Ricochet”
“Cardigan”
“style”
“empty space”
“shake”
“Wildest Dreams”
“Bad Blood”
“Mirror Ball”
“Tim McGraw”
“Lavender Haze”
“Anti-Hero”
“Midnight Rain”
“Shit Keeper”
“twisted”
“Highway”
“Karma”
