shyboi Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 yeah, those magical moments that happened in Mexico and some parts of LA where she heavily broke the script and truly interacted with the audience might not come back she's been on tour for almost a year now and she's probably a little tired already, imagine how robotic it must feel to her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalore Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Just now, HeddaO said: I hope so, I remember watching clips from the Speak Now tour acoustic sets where she actually talks more about the songs, on this show even the surprise songs were felt in a rush. She has 46 songs to fit into 3h15 minutes. I was at the first show in Paris and it was almost like opening night again because I had seen the previous version of the tour ad nauseam. You're entitled to your experience but to say she was doing grocery shopping is dishonest and borderline insulting, especially the shows in Paris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoisonedIvy Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 2 minutes ago, HeddaO said: I hope so, I remember watching clips from the Speak Now tour acoustic sets where she actually talks more about the songs, on this show even the surprise songs were felt in a rush. It's a 3.5 hour show so there really isn't any room for speeches Like, people usually don't sit around that long for one artist, and she has to keep the show moving or else she could end up in violation of curfew laws and such. I can accept this as long as her future tours revert to a couple hours with room for her speeches & personality to return! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeddaO Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 6 minutes ago, DevilsRollTheDice said: I think part of the problem here is this tour's inescapability online. Things probably don't feel as organic because we've all watched it at every angle, seen everything unexpected. Between the tour film and social media, every potentially viral second of this tour is captured in high quality and pushed out to millions of viewers. You are possibly highly right on this view of things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 in her defense, anyone who does stadium tours follows a strict schedule and the high production stage makes things more limited for the artist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeddaO Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 3 minutes ago, PoisonedIvy said: It's a 3.5 hour show so there really isn't any room for speeches Like, people usually don't sit around that long for one artist, and she has to keep the show moving or else she could end up in violation of curfew laws and such. I can accept this as long as her future tours revert to a couple hours with room for her speeches & personality to return! She has a personality and she knows how to show it. There were songs like Betty or Lover that were absolute fillers during the concert which she could cut just for the show to feel more personal or special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoisonedIvy Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Just now, HeddaO said: She has a personality and she knows how to show it. There were songs like Betty or Lover that were absolute fillers during the concert which she could cut just for the show to feel more personal or special. A lot of us agree with certain songs that could be cut, but we're also not the ones in her position so I trust her judgment — she's made decisions that played out perfectly for career in the long run. The sterility of the Eras Tour is an intentional decision that will pay off in the long run in other ways yet unforeseen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeddaO Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 7 minutes ago, Mandalore said: She has 46 songs to fit into 3h15 minutes. I was at the first show in Paris and it was almost like opening night again because I had seen the previous version of the tour ad nauseam. You're entitled to your experience but to say she was doing grocery shopping is dishonest and borderline insulting, especially the shows in Paris. It was just a metaphor for her lack of showing a night more treatment, maybe it was better the N1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campelo Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 It's completely understandable. She has the cues to speak as every artist does, the problem is that she says the same thing every city and not every artist does that. That's the difference, it feels very robotic the interactions and her reactions to it. Like the intro she always does before The Man is so uncool. anyway she could make her queues with spontaneous things to say and not scripted 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Banana Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Every step of her career is calculated so are we really surprised that her concerts are as calculated? Lol. Will never understand the hype about her. 3 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 I can't comment on the Eras tour but I will say that an issue I've had for a long time with tours in general is that the 'spontaneous' moments are often rehearsed and are done at every single show so I see your point there. I agree it comes off as in genuine and it feels like you've bought a cookie cutter product rather than a genuine experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalore Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 2 minutes ago, HeddaO said: It was just a metaphor for her lack of showing a night more treatment, maybe it was better the N1 Honestly with how inescapable content of the tour was the first year, it's totally understandable to feel like you've had it spoiled. If I didn't manage to go early I would've stayed off social media for sure and 100% skipped the tour movie. The Paris shows were as "new" as it's gonna get if you keep up with the tour's content online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuteboyzay Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 (edited) Well unfortunately that happens when artists tour ya know. And Taylor going on a 100+ date Stadium Tour is pretty unheard of for ANYBODYYY. So she will have dates where it does look and sound rehearsed. And she's probably SUPPERR tired lmao! I'm sorry you had a date like that but it happens with every huge artist. Hopefully the next time you see her will be amazing. Edited May 21 by cuteboyzay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dear Reader Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 There will be a "Swiftie Spot" on the mall next to the stadium where people can make friendship bracelets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarajukuPrincess Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 I think she's aware of how big she is and simply doesn't want to err, or really leave much to chance. So it may seem a bit too rehearsed but she really just doesn't want to disappoint anyone. IYKYK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiliam Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 It happened a lot to super fans. Cause we watched the movie a lot of times (i go to the movie theater 4 times). And an embarrassing amount of time on those live stream. So i kinda overthinking and force myself to react to certain parts (which i memorized) and then when reality comes and i dont react the same way as i hope then i kinda feel bad and not enjoy the show as i should. But then as the show go on, i can feel the energy better, the rep set switch me back to stop overthinking and then i bawl my eyes with long live and after that i enjoy the rest of the show much better than the 1st half. And one key note is you should look at the screen more to see her facial expression to connect more to the show. At 1st i refuse to look at the screen cause i aint paying that much to watch a movie, but actually look back and forth between the screen and stage make the experience much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onyxmage Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Justin finding out that Taylor is a bad performer after 20 years is wild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffy Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 (edited) 3 hours ago, HeddaO said: I've been questioning if I should write about this since the concert 10 days ago, but it's been stuck in my mind since. Let's begin this with the fact that I've been a Taylor fan since Fearless and was always trying to be objective on her releases and career choices. Unfortunately, I feel like recently I was overexposed to her music, so I decided to listen to it less frequently, although there hasn't been a week in which I didn't go back to evermore or 1989 for example. I attended The Eras Tour opening days in Europe, Paris, on May 11th. I tried avoiding any info on the TTPD set and setlist stages, although I did watch the Tour Film a long time ago which is important for the letter. I was blown away by the staging, production, crowd energy, fluidity of the entire show, her presence and the setlist in general. I'm a big fan of evermore, so I was a bit bitter that it got mixed with folklore and cut because of TTPD which I'm not a fan of. Speaking of TTPD, the most spectacular parts of the show itself were during reputation and TTPD sets, ironic since those are my two least favorite albums, but her energy and stage presence was at the show's peak. It was both emotional and exciting for me since it was my first time seeing her. Everything felt like a tour movie until it began to bother me. Interaction with the crowd was at it's minimal, her reactions felt ungenuine and identical to the tour meaning they happened at the same show-runtime, even getting out the earplug. She said a few words in French, but that's not how you react to a crowd. I was on a lot of tours, big and small, before and I'm aware this is so huge that there's little space for changes and spontaneousness, but I always felt connected to an artist and left the venue in awe, questioning the artist itself in every way. But after The Eras show ended, it felt like a projector shut down and you should just continue with your day, it seemed like Taylor's everyday grocery shopping that she had do to before going out that night. Overall, I'm grateful to experience history in the making, but it didn't feel like one. It felt like another show run - in the cinema. WTF. I just wrote a long response and it got deleted somehow when they merged the thread. UGH. Anyways, I share the same disappointment as you. I've been a fan since 2008 and been to all her shows. The Eras Tour has been by far the least intimate. The Eras Tour was very exciting when she first announced it. I had never got to experience her debut era and so I was really looking forward to seeing her sing those songs live. But imagine the huge disappointment finding out Debut wasn't even part of the set list! It was utterly misleading and gut punching considering how she dressed up as Debut Taylor in the Capital One commercial and heavily promoted this tour in a way to make you think all the eras are included. And then the audacity to only perform a couple songs from Fearless and only HALF of a song (Enchanted) for Speak Now. It's honestly major disrespect to her US fans who have been there with her since her country days. I am also opposite of you — TTPD and Reputation are my favorites. I dislike Evermore and Midnights and so the second half of the show really dragged. I also felt like I was watching the TV screen the whole time. The stage design was super lacking and unimaginative. It was mainly screens and her walking back and forth on the stage. It definitely felt more like a direct-to-home video kind of experience. There was no intimate fan engagement. In her past shows she would walk through the crowd or hover over our heads with the floating balcony, but there was none of that. While I appreciate her stamina to put on a 3 hour show, this was definitely the most disappointing tour. I give the Eras Tour a 3/10. Maybe TS12 tour will be better. Edited May 21 by Buffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dear Reader Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 More tickets for Lisbon were just released. Selling the obstructed view tickets now and some more. She's aiming for the record Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxtbxt9797 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 (edited) 33 minutes ago, Buffy said: WTF. I just wrote a long response and it got deleted somehow when they merged the thread. UGH. Anyways, I share the same disappointment as you. I've been a fan since 2008 and been to all her shows. The Eras Tour has been by far the least intimate. The Eras Tour was very exciting when she first announced it. I had never got to experience her debut era and so I was really looking forward to seeing her sing those songs live. But imagine the huge disappointment finding out Debut wasn't even part of the set list! It was utterly misleading and gut punching considering how she dressed up as Debut Taylor in the Capital One commercial and heavily promoted this tour in a way to make you think all the eras are included. And then the audacity to only perform a couple songs from Fearless and only HALF of a song (Enchanted) for Speak Now. It's honestly major disrespect to her US fans who have been there with her since her country days. I am also opposite of you — TTPD and Reputation are my favorites. I dislike Evermore and Midnights and so the second half of the show really dragged. I also felt like I was watching the TV screen the whole time. The stage design was super lacking and unimaginative. It was mainly screens and her walking back and forth on the stage. It definitely felt more like a direct-to-home video kind of experience. There was no intimate fan engagement. In her past shows she would walk through the crowd or hover over our heads with the floating balcony, but there was none of that. While I appreciate her stamina to put on a 3 hour show, this was definitely the most disappointing tour. I give the Eras Tour a 3/10. Maybe TS12 tour will be better. Your point about the lack of stage design got me thinking. I've followed her tours since Fearless. Initially, as someone who watches tour videos online, Speak Now was my fave tour as it was the most elaborate with the stage props. She went all out with exciting stuffs for every song. I was disappointed that over time, she's been relying more on the big screen and less on the theatrical elements. However, when I was finally able to afford tour tickets and attended my first Taylor show on the Rep tour (followed by two shows on the Eras tour), I've come to appreciate that big screen. They were stadium shows, and my seat was always very far from the stage. The screen was the only thing I could see properly, while the props looked like a blur to me. So I get it. She needed to move away from those elaborate stage designs because she's now doing much bigger shows. There aren't too many ways to ensure there's no "bad seat" in a stadium besides relying on visuals on the big screens (and the stage floor) and minimising the props. I'm happy she did make the TTPD set theatrical though. Edited May 21 by bxtbxt9797 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariananext Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Idk I'm super excited and I don't mind the repetition, I do agree that sometimes it feels a bit cringy (like The Man speech as someone else mentioned), I don't mind it when she's explaining the albums or songs like the Folkmore set. I think the disappointment could also come from the fact that we're used to seeing this tour in full HD 4K from up close and unless you have a VIP ticket in the PIT it may feel like you're just "watching" the experience instead of living it. On another hand, I think the friendship bracelets, the outfits making etc. really make the experience much better because it's really more than just a concert, as those things are not something that you continuously while waiting for your date like watching videos/movie over and over again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffy Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 1 minute ago, bxtbxt9797 said: Your point about the lack of stage design got me thinking. I've followed her tours since Fearless. Initially, as someone who watches tour videos online, Speak Now was my fave tour as it was the most elaborate with the stage props. She went all out with exciting stuffs for every song. As she transitioned into a pop star, she's been relying more on the big screen and less on the theatrical elements. However, when I was finally able to afford tour tickets and attended my first Taylor show on the Rep tour (followed by two shows on the Eras tour), I've come to appreciate that big screen. They were stadium shows, and my seat were always very far from the stage. The screen was the only thing I could see properly, while the props looked like a blur to me. So I get it. She needed to move away from those elaborate stage designs because she's now doing much bigger shows. There aren't too many ways to ensure there's no "bad seat" in a stadium besides relying on visuals on the big screens (and the stage floor) and minimising the props. I'm happy she did make the TTPD set theatrical though. Speak Now was so theatrical and amazing. By far her best tour. She had acrobats, pyrotechnics, the huge bell that dropped on her during Haunted, the castle and masquerade dancers for Love Story, her and Caitlin slapping each other on the bridge during Better Than Revenge, the head banging!!!, Sparks Fly having its glorious moment, the snow falling on the crowd during Back To December. Every song transported you into their own world. It was sooooo magical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxtbxt9797 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Buffy said: Speak Now was so theatrical and amazing. By far her best tour. She had acrobats, pyrotechnics, the huge bell that dropped on her during Haunted, the castle and masquerade dancers for Love Story, her and Caitlin slapping each other on the bridge during Better Than Revenge, the head banging!!!, Sparks Fly having its glorious moment, the snow falling on the crowd during Back To December. Every song transported you into their own world. It was sooooo magical She left her all on that tour! I think the struggle to replicate it on the Red tour meant there wasn't much further she could go in that same direction. Hence the complete switch to pop-style tours from 1989 onwards. I sadly don't see the SN kinda tour coming back tbh. Must've been hella expensive carrying those props all over the world, esp that bridge that was only used for 2 songs Back to December and Better than revenge. Visuals on the screen would be cheaper and easier to replicate at every show. Edited May 21 by bxtbxt9797 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Duff Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 I didn't feel that she's ingenuine and scripted on N1 of Stockholm where I went. She engaged with the crowd. Maybe I wasn't the kind to watch the shows online or on Tik Tok so that's the probably why. But I actually felt connected to her and despite the runtime of the show (and the enormous number of songs she sang), she still got time to simmer and immerse the love that the fans have for her. And when she sang Peter, it just went straight to my soul. That song is really special. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lachiqui_klk Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 1 hour ago, Buffy said: It's honestly major disrespect to her US fans who have been there with her since her country days. lolz you've been able to see her in every single tour and see those albums live. she's only come to my country ONCE before the eras tour, and it was a reduced version of that tour. we just can't blame her for focusing on her more popular / recent works. i agree the SN era could use a few more songs and a mini-debut nod (an our song and teardrops on my guitar mashup for example) would've been cute but that's far from a disrespect, specially for fans that not only have been able to see every single tour (with maaaaany dates in the same country) but are also flying overseas to see the eras tour several times in places where fans have maybe never had a chance to see her live. i know where you're coming from with the rest of the post but saying that she disrespects US fans... girl... read the room. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts