Put on your glass slippers
Mona
Swifties’ love for Taylor is real! An outing to a multiplex to watch the film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, directed by Sam Wrench, confirmed that.
It was not like watching any other film. A house full of her fans took over the cinema hall, cheering, singing, dancing to their idol’s numbers for close to three hours. If you thought this was limited to the audi in which movie was playing, the answer is no. The long interval turned the snack lobby and even washrooms into concert grounds where Swifties had it all out, singing and dancing to their hearts’ content.
And boy, they were dressed for the occasion! Short blingy numbers, face glitter, glass slippers to friendship bracelets, just to show their love for the 12 Grammys winner. The bracelet trend, inspired by her number, You’re On Your Own, Kid that goes — Everything you lose is a step you take/So make the friendship bracelets/Take the moment and taste it — was on full display.
The movie that films the concert at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles, is stupendous. Yes, it has Taylor for one, vibing with her army. Call it a cult if you may. And Taylor is enchanting on stage. Her history-making Eras Tour reportedly gave $5.7 billion boost to the US’s economy with the sales of tickets, merchandise, hotel bookings, food bills and outfits. The Eras Tour movie itself broke box-office records after its release mid-October, giving the economy another boost.
The ongoing The Eras Tour began on March 17 in Arizona and has travelled through the US and Mexico aiming at total 146 shows across five continents. The tour, with a set list of 44 songs from different eras of Swift’s career, has the next stop at Buenos Aires on November 9.
The film hit Indian screens this weekend, and the scene wasn’t any different from how the concert film was received elsewhere in the world. The Swifties made cinemas their own personal concert. Enthusiastic singing, hugs and tears streaming down, their love for Taylor had no parallels. Girls sure outnumbered boys here but those who showed up matched the energy, synergy, screamed out loud, and singing word to word, beat to beat.
Taylor packs in hit numbers in this concert taking along her fans on a journey from a teen to today (33 now). Of course, she sings amazingly well, and is pretty good with the guitar and the piano. Her humility, her love for the audience, her acknowledgment of the love of her fans that gives her the strength to experiment with her music…make her come across as a real person.
She shows how she carries herself through the long hours on the stage, quickly changes costumes, stage settings, without missing a beat. Super fit, and strong, she rocks her glamorous costumes — the multi-coloured blingy numbers. Her multi-coloured paint on trimmed nails and glittering earpieces are the only other accessories, no jewellery whatsoever, and she looks divine!
And now the stage craft. “For Folklore, we brought our cabin to LA,” she shares and fans breakout in screams as the The Last Great American Dynasty songstress admits dreaming of herself to be a Victorian lady. As somone living in the woods, collecting feathers for her pillows, making her fans give her a loud cheer right before she breaks into Betty. Right from clouds to oceans, snakes to stars, the set designs keep it refreshing throughout.
A shout-out to her phenomenal band and her dancers, who take as many costumes changes and move ever so swiftly between song to song, captivating the masses. Of course, all numbers cannot be accommodated but the ones that draw the loudest cheer remain – The Man, Champagne Problems, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Bad Blood and Anti-Hero. Director Sam Wrench has beautifully delivered this piece that captures the transcendent Taylor phenomenon!
