I'll give this to her: Taylor Swift is a genius marketer. But I don't understand the “Eras” tour.
Yes, I understand that it's a concert tour. I also get that the “Eras” tour is the celebration of Swift's entire discography. But while most of pop culture seems to go head over heels for the tour, one question remains: What makes this so special?
And no, this isn't coming from a bitter fan who missed out on “Eras” tour tickets. I'm also not here to question Swift as an artist or performer so much as this whole gimmick.
The whole concept of an “Eras” tour is redundant, to be honest, and here's why.
Not like other tours
What most think sets apart the “Eras” tour is its wide range of songs played. Sure, Swift does go out and play about 45 songs (give or take) over three hours. But what makes it so special? Is it that she's playing the hits from all of her past albums?
If so, I hate to break it to you, but that's what a concert tour is. Unless you're U2 and decide to tell a narrative through your show, or Bob Dylan in his twilight years who resists playing hits like it carries a disease, most artists play their hits during a concert. Additionally, they will usually play songs from their latest release — that's what support tours are.
I understand that the pandemic made Swift unable to tour Evermore and the (Taylor's Version) releases that came during it. In turn, I suppose touring her entire discography was the next best move. It'd be hard to bill something as the “Evermore Midnights” tour (though I like the sound of that), but the “Eras” tour is silly marketing.
Again, looking at the setlist, I get it. Though she does omit her self-titled debut album and hardly acknowledges Speak Now, she covers all necessary bases.
Maybe it's just the song count that makes the “Eras” tour special. Her previous tour, the “Reputation Stadium” tour, averaged 19 songs a night per setlist.fm. Playing more than double that number opens up the jukebox for a lot more hits. But she still seemed to cover the necessary bases on that tour.
So I must ask — is the “Eras” tour “style” over substance? I'm sure there's spectacle, but would it be a big deal if 25 songs were played instead of 45? We'll never know.
Looking back
I'm not trying to knock nostalgia, because my favorite artists use it. U2 is currently commemorating their 1991 album Achtung Baby at the Sphere. And while some of those songs lose some of their oomph 30+ years after its release, the high-tech venue is what justifies the residency. There is a balance of looking back at the past and showing what the future of concerts can be.
Take Paul McCartney, for example. Arguably, McCartney is the greatest living legend in music right now. He has continued to tour past his Beatles era, whether it was as a solo artist or with Wings. Over the past 20 years, McCartney has gotten comfortable in a really safe set. But he doesn't bill his show as a jukebox collection of hits. It's just Paul McCartney playing a show.
Throughout his near-three-hour set (a feat all the more impressive given his age), McCartney makes his way through his entire catalog. That includes hits like “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude” from the Beatles, “Band on the Run” from Wings, and “Maybe I'm Amazed” from his solo work.
The Rolling Stones just put out their first album of new material in almost two decades. Yet Mick Jagger and Co. still toured for the past 20 years. Do you really think they went without playing “Sympathy for the Devil” or “Start Me Up”? I'd like to think not. Billy Joel also only plays hits during his shows.
But this is what a concert is. If Taylor Swift went out and played her deep cuts for three hours, fans wouldn't be happy. Going out and playing a mix of oldies with your new material — provided you're confident enough in them — is what artists have been doing since the beginning of concert tours.
On their own “Eras” tours
Nonetheless, the Taylor Swift effect is in full swing in the music industry.
Ed Sheeran is embarking on the “Mathematics” tour (which began well before the “Eras” tour, to be fair). As you can probably guess, the “Mathematics” tour is a celebration of Sheeran's five math symbol-named albums (and No. 6 Collaborations Project). But to my knowledge, Sheeran isn't billing it as some extravaganza. He goes out and plays the best possible set with the necessary tracks from each album. He's not segmenting the songs into different eras and then preaching to his audience about each one.
The Jonas Brothers are on their own “Eras” tour, the “Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour.” Again, nothing wrong with framing your tour around your back catalog. I just don't understand why this is news to anyone.
Nostalgia era (Taylor's Version)
But perhaps this is all par for the course for Taylor Swift. She just released her fourth (Taylor's Version) album, 1989. Chalk it up to wanting to own the rights or creative bankruptcy, Swift has been no stranger to playing the nostalgia card.
To her credit, the “Eras” tour also force-feeds its audience tracks from Midnights. It's almost as if her most recent album (of original music) was an afterthought (which, to be fair, it is). Yes, it's her most recent new release, or era, but it's also her weakest music until the 1989 (Taylor's Version) re-release — which is as uninspiring as it gets. Is it a case of storytelling or her forcing her crappy new music onto a mentally (and physically) exhausted audience?
The nostalgia card is an easy one to play when you have some of the best PR behind you. Swift and her team do know how to move numbers and tickets alike. Swifties go in droves to exchange their bracelets and will take control of a screening of the “Eras” tour concert film with their Midsommar-like dancing.
The “Eras” tour will be a feat when it's all said and done. Box office records will be smashed, and Swifties will like to think she changed the game. Little do they know, Swift embarked on a fairly standard tour decked out with sequined dresses and endless friendship bracelets.
Good on Swift, though. She played her cards right and it paid off. Let's see how well her next era — hopefully, full of new music — goes.
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