By Payton Calati
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film released on Oct. 13. This two hour and 48-minute show is bigger than any concert recording she has ever done before. The recording took place on her last date of the U.S. tour at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles.
She took the audience into the inner realm of her concert. While watching the concert, I heard a group of friends having a good time, singing along, calling out the callbacks, and overall enjoying their time in the theater.
Katianna Mansfield, 23, of Grand Rapids, was surprised that it was just the concert.
“I thought it was going to be about the making of it and the behind the scenes and like that more online and culture surrounding it, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was just the whole concert,” Mansfield said.
Andy Garza, 19, of Chicago, also said the same thing about the film being just a concert.
“I expected there to be like behind the scene stuff but there was just music which isn’t a bad thing, but just wasn’t what I was expecting,” Garza said.
Mason Rittenberg, 25, of Fruitport, found it better than he thought it was going to be.
“I actually felt like I was there and it was a lot better than I expected,” Rittenbery said.
Mansfield went to both the tour and the theater concert and was able to tell the difference between the experiences.
“It was amazing, I went to the Eras tour back in June, Detroit night 2, and it was so good, there were a few differences, but they probably did that so that people that go to the concert and people who see the movie have a different experience,” Mansfield said. “She did a really good job, and the director did a really good job of portraying the energy that it feels like being there and the talent that she has.”
Coming from a person that wasn’t able to go on the tour in person, I understood what she meant about portraying the energy and the talent. The cameramen would show parts of the audience during some of Swift’s songs and you could feel the energy and the love that the fans have for Swift and vice versa.
Faith Forsythe, 20, of Northville, recommends this to people who like music.
“Definitely if you like music you should see it, because she is an incredible music artist but you know I would probably recommend it to younger people because I don’t think my dad or something would find that very entertaining,” Forsythe said.
Swift and her fans have been able to develop a “homely” environment and continue to do so in theaters.
“I mean especially with the bracelets that we have,” Rittenberg said. ”It’s a very unifying experience, especially for the people that went there. And so I think everybody could benefit just a little bit from it.”
After the interview I had with Rittenberg he gave me a bracelet of 1989 after asking me which Swift’s albums were my favorite. Katianna also gave me a bracelet of the Reputation album and it really made me feel the love of Swift’s fans.
Seeing this performance in concert made me feel included in what others were able to experience and I think that this was a great way for Taylor Swift and her team to be able to incorporate all of her fans and make sure that fans have a chance to experience it for a more affordable price $19.89.
The concert film will continue showing in theaters for a limited time. Check your local listings for show times.
