Tours & Set Lists & Length of Shows

[LilyLark 10,060]

 I want to clarify that I'm not trying to start some sort of hate thread about Taylor as I know these things can spiral. Anyway, I checked some of these lengths on google/wiki to see if I was recalling everything correctly. I just was curious about this as I read a little story that quoted Emma Stone talking about Taylor's stamina.

I've been to many concerts over the years and I've seen several big acts.

In my experience, usually a set list is between 17-25 songs. When I saw Dua and Miley, both performed around 20 songs in total. The Mrs Carter Tour was around 22 songs and so was Gaga's Joanne. Bey's later tours were (and are) longer: Formation had around 30 songs and I believe Renaissance also has around 30 songs. Lana's Norman F*cking Rockwell Tour had 16 songs in total.

So how on earth is Taylor doing 44 songs? That's 14 more than Bey's longest shows and 28 songs more than Lana. I know she isn't dancing at the level of Bey, but she still does a fair amount of choreography. Is she relying heavily on back up tracks and/or lip synching? I know she's using one of those pre-programmed pianos (idk why, Taylor can play the piano very well) as that clip was all over twitter.

And if she is, why isn't mentioned in reviews? I'm old enough to remember when Bey was caught relying on a back up track once as the weather was sh*t while singing the National Anthem in 2013, and the music critics lost their minds over it and like wrote 'think pieces' about it. Do you think in this day and age, critics care more about the spectacle of it all versus the authenticity?

Edit: To be clear, I think Taylor is a good performer. I'm not saying 'she's awful' or anything along those lines.

[Future Lovers 6,662]

Im going to say something here before all of the "she can do 3 hours bc she isn't performing like insert whatever pop girl they want to compare her to" people arrive. Performance of any kind, whether you're dancing a ton or just standing still is exhausting. It requires a level of mental and emotional engagement that absolutely drains you. I've been performing since I was ten years old. I've seen performers who are in plays that have no singing, no dancing, or any of that come off stage after a performance be exhausted.

No, Taylor isnt dancing to the level Beyonce is and no her songs aren't as vocally challenging as Gaga's. But 3.5 hours is a big ask for any kind of performing and it is an absolute feat that she's able to do it. 

To answer your question: she uses the same tricks everyone does to endure. Physical training, probably on a strict diet, probably on some sort of amended vocal behavior pattern between shows. On stage she uses the backing track and paces her vocally demanding moments across the show so they're not happening all at once. 

She gets praised for this tour because she's using these tricks to deliver an unprecedentedly massive show every single week.

She does not use pre-recorded piano. That piano acted that way because it is an electric piano that had been sitting out in a torrential rainstorm the night before and had taken damage. She is now using a different one in the shows because of this. 

She does sing along with a backing track to help her through the show, just as Beyonce does, just as Gaga does, just as Dua does, etc. Artists in every genre from pop to rock to country use it because it is now industry standard. Artists are in general moving away from lip syncing and instead mixing their live vocal with a backing track as it allows them to be live and expressive and emotive without killing their voice across the length of a tour. Taylor sings live in her shows, but she has help, same as all of her peers do. 

The reviews don't mention this for the same reason it doesn't get mentioned in anyone's reviews anymore: it's a standard practice. In 2013 when Bey was dragged, this was not so common. By now, reviewers are well aware how the production of massive tours works and they know they're hearing some playback along with the artist singing. 

The praise that has been handed out to Taylor is for the reason I opened with: it is indeed still an endurance test  to do a 3.5 hour show. All of the people who claim it's a breeze to do because they don't find her show demanding I assure you could not do her show every weekend. I'd go so far as to say they couldn't even do it for one weekend. It's impressive she's been able to keep her energy up and keep the shows exciting and engaging despite how exhausting each one likely is. 

Bey is getting this praise as well as her current tour is her longest show to date. It may seem a little fainter at the moment because American media hasn't begun it's fevered coverage but once she gets to the US shows, you'll see the same praises in the reviews. 

[LilyLark 10,060]

17 minutes ago, Future Lovers said:

The reviews don't mention this for the same reason it doesn't get mentioned in anyone's reviews anymore: it's a standard practice. In 2013 when Bey was dragged, this was not so common. By now, reviewers are well aware how the production of massive tours works and they know they're hearing some playback along with the artist singing. 

The praise that has been handed out to Taylor is for the reason I opened with: it is indeed still an endurance test  to do a 3.5 hour show. All of the people who claim it's a breeze to do because they don't find her show demanding I assure you could not do her show every weekend. I'd go so far as to say they couldn't even do it for one weekend. It's impressive she's been able to keep her energy up and keep the shows exciting and engaging despite how exhausting each one likely is. 

Bey is getting this praise as well as her current tour is her longest show to date. It may seem a little fainter at the moment because American media hasn't begun it's fevered coverage but once she gets to the US shows, you'll see the same praises in the reviews. 

Valid points.

And yes, I don't deny it's a huge feat (e.g. the spectacle of it all is very impressive) or that Taylor 'isn't' a good performer. She's clearly a good performer and I know it must be very hard for any artist on tour (not just physically, but emotionally).

I suppose I'm hung up the mindset around 2013-2014 versus now, and I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the difference in length. But your comments were interesting and made sense.

[Tyler1992 2,255]

The level of dedication behind the scenes has to be so gruelling. The determination to put on a show that big is unfathomable.

 

[faysalaaa 3,989]

But why even do a long show? I dont think anyone wanted their favorite artist to do more than 2 hours! 

[Future Lovers 6,662]

3 minutes ago, faysalaaa1 said:

But why even do a long show? I dont think anyone wanted their favorite artist to do more than 2 hours! 

This is false though. Audiences have pretty much always been into this. 

3 hour shows aren't new, they just are making a resurgence. In the 70s and 80s, three hour shows for rock artists were the norm. Now, it's getting transitioned over into pop. 

Concerts are more expensive now than ever before. If people are going to buy, they expect to get the most from it. 20 songs and straightforward production aren't going to cut it anymore. The majority of audiences want these larger shows with longer setlists, bigger production, more everything. We're going to see this once again normalized just as it was in the 70s and 80s.

This is going to be the new standard because audiences have responded with an overwhelming vote of confidence on the two tours that are reinvigorating the longer show format. 

[PartySick 153,524]

11 minutes ago, Future Lovers said:

This is false though. Audiences have pretty much always been into this. 

3 hour shows aren't new, they just are making a resurgence. In the 70s and 80s, three hour shows for rock artists were the norm. Now, it's getting transitioned over into pop. 

Concerts are more expensive now than ever before. If people are going to buy, they expect to get the most from it. 20 songs and straightforward production aren't going to cut it anymore. The majority of audiences want these larger shows with longer setlists, bigger production, more everything. We're going to see this once again normalized just as it was in the 70s and 80s.

This is going to be the new standard because audiences have responded with an overwhelming vote of confidence on the two tours that are reinvigorating the longer show format. 

Kinda funny how the industry is being pulled towards both concerts that are 3+ hours long but songs that should never exceed 3 minutes

Personally, I think Taylor's show is far too long for my tastes. I'd be leaving halfway through the set (I wouldn't go to a TS concert regardless but you know what I mean ). Gaga's shows are just over 2 hours long and by the time her encore ends is about the time I'm feeling like "all right, let's wrap this up, come on"

I'd just get too restless for that

[Blackout19 11,214]

Because she loves more then anyone what she is doing. 

She was born to be an artist. 

[ImMatt 1,736]

1 hour ago, faysalaaa1 said:

But why even do a long show? I dont think anyone wanted their favorite artist to do more than 2 hours! 

I think a lot of it is because of ticket prices. If I remember rightly, Taylor was criticised massively for the prices of her tickets and had to respond and basically blamed Ticket Master as they set the pricing. She probably thought, how do we make this value for money for people, and so decided on doing a longer show to make up for it. Credit to her...I think we'll see high prices become the norm but plenty of artists won't do anywhere near the length of show she's doing.

[SimonBaetens 8,007]

I think Taylor is very set on breaking records. Plus her fans seem to enjoy the long shows?

[Bronco 8,772]

It'll be interesting to see if it becomes the norm for Taylor Swif or if it was a one off for a greatest hits themed tour also having to cover 4 albums released since the previous tour. 

I think the standard is far more likely to be closer to 30 moving forward than Swift's 40+ as it isn't for most acts who do a 20-22 set atm too much of an additional demand & strain. 

I think it's also far more likely we'll start to see similar touring patterns emerge where tour dates are more spaced out for health reasons as touring companies are losing too much money on acts getting sick or burnt out and having to cancel due to the existing structure where many of them get at most 48 hours between two performances on a tour. 

[Tyler1992 2,255]

I think she created a setlist this long because

a) Lover Fest was cancelled

b) Folklore and Evermore never had a tour

c) This is also a Midnights tour

Perfect time to do a greatest hits tour