It’s safe to say Taylor Swift is taking the world by storm this year. Swift’s “Eras Tour” could be a reason her music and
name have been everywhere. With Swift’s forty-five-song setlist and the potential to overthrow Elton John for the
highest-grossing tour ever, it’s no wonder how she’s made such a mark on many people around the world.

After the Ticketmaster fiasco that happened last year, it left many fans without tickets or spending money that was too
unrealistic for a concert. Swift decided to make the concert more accessible to fans by creating “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” released Oct. 13, the film version of the concert she’s been touring this year.

With tickets costing $19.89 and being in theaters all over the world, it allowed many fans and non-fans to have
the opportunity to get to see the record-breaking tour in the comfort of their local movie theaters.

Fans that saw Swift live and headed to the theater to experience the tour again, were sure to experience differences.

Junior Caroline Meister who attended the concert on June 17, and saw the film on Oct. 14, talks about how she prepared for the movie versus the concert.

“I did prepare the same way because I wore a different lover-themed outfit and had another bracelet-making party before it,” she said. “I worried less about the details because I knew I was only seeing the movie and not the actual concert but I still picked out an outfit and made bracelets.”

Meister attended the film on Oct. 14, 2023, and had thoughts about how the concert and film both fulfilled something
the other didn’t.

“In the movie, you could see Taylor’s and the dancers’ expressions more clearly, which added more life to the performance,” she said. “It was fun to just admire the showmanship of the performers because they’re all so talented.
The energy at the concert from the fans is something the movie could never match. The light-up bracelets are another aspect that elevated the experience that you can’t recreate while watching a movie. Being immersed in a crowd of people who are all just as excited as you to see the show brings a sense of belonging and I felt as if I were friends with the entire stadium of strangers.”

One of the main differences between the concert and film was the audience participation. Junior Lexie Shundry shares what the audience did at the concert versus the film.

“I was mostly always singing but my friends and I would rotate from sitting and standing depending on the Era,” she said. “I would say most people were sitting, and the singing was more minimal. Occasionally, people would stand and dance around, especially the younger kids. Meanwhile, at the concert, almost everyone was always standing, singing, dancing and screaming along.”

A huge loss for the film was the five cut songs that were part of the concert show: “The Archer,” “No Body No Crime,” “Long Live,” “Cardigan” and “Wildest Dreams.”

Senior Miranda Johnson and junior Rylee Flickenger, attendees of both the film and concert, stated their opinions on the cut songs.

“I think she should have kept everything; I didn’t like that she cut songs,” Johnson said. “People would be more than willing to sit and watch the whole three-hour concert.”

Flickenger agreed with Johnson.

“I did not think she would cut out songs because they were a part of the main setlist,” Flickenger said. “I wish [Swift] did not cut [the] songs.”

The good news for fans of Swift is three of these songs, “The Archer,” “Long Live” and “Wildest Dreams,” will be included in an extended version of the film being released to rent digitally on Dec. 13, which is also the singer’s birthday.

Though the film was great for fans to experience or relive the “Eras Tour” it is safe to say from Shundry and Johnson,
that the concert was better.

“The experience I liked most would definitely be the concert,” Shundry said. “I enjoyed my surprise songs, I also think being in the same stadium at the same time as [Swift] beats the excitement of just the movie. Along with that, being around that many people trading bracelets, getting [merchandise] and just talking with them and seeing them react in person made the experience my all-time favorite.”

For Johnson, she more enjoyed the act of seeing Swift and being with other big fans.

“The concert, it was nothing like I’ve ever seen before,” Johnson said. “She was interactive with the crowd, everyone was screaming, dancing and having a good time. You could tell [Swift] loved what she was doing. It was the best night of my life.”