In a series of special year-end roundtables, AV Club looks back at some of the stories that made the biggest impact on pop culture in 2023.
In many ways, 2023 felt like the year concerts really came back in full force after the Covid lockdown and social distancing. Of course, people were out until the end of 2021, and 2022 saw major Harry Styles and Bad Bunny tours. But they pale in comparison to the one-two punches of 2023’s Eras Tour and the Renaissance Tour by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, respectively. Not only was he getting tickets, since a challenge such as surviving after “several bear attacks”, in Swift’s words, but the shows were credited with boosting the US economy by billions of dollars.
But on the other hand, concerts often make headlines about the fact that everyone seemed to have forgotten how to behave in public, which took the form of throwing things at the performers. Baby Reja was hit in the face with a phone; Harry Styles was hit with … something; P!nk faced the ashes of a fan’s parent and wheel of cheese.
In this round table, AV Club staffers Saloni Gajjar, Drew Gillis and Emma Keates discuss the highs and lows of the year at concerts and why getting back together with fellow fans is often kind of weird.
Gajar salons: I shouldn’t have been shocked by their massive popularity, but it was still a trip to see how insane the hype around eras and renaissance was this year. This was not just a music tour, it became an event not to be missed. But if you missed it, there was usually a different news every night and the concerts were streamed live on TikTok with thousands of people watching. It all kind of catapulted into madness. I understand though, I went on one of these tours and had the best time. And I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the other one.
Emma Keats: In many ways, these seemed like two of the first BIG returns to widespread positive (well, we can discuss that later) public experience since the pandemic, so I’m not surprised they took off so well. I didn’t really try to buy tickets for any of them and didn’t think I’d care until all the live streams/Instagram posts/general hubbub (to use Saloni’s word) got to me and I was completely swept away. I watched … a lot of TikToks from both of them. An embarrassing amount to be honest.
Drew Gillis: When the Renaissance Tour started in Stockholm, I did my best to avoid the content, but I was hoping to go to the show and didn’t want it to be “spoiled”, and then when it became clear that he wouldn’t be taking tickets, no I could get my fill.
SG: That’s so fair. I feel like all of these posts and live shows have generated a lot more interest even from people who probably aren’t huge fans of Taylor or even Beyoncé. I don’t know if major musical acts have been consumed in this way before.
I: I didn’t even consider myself a Swiftie before this show, and now I’m the one correcting my friends on their deep cleavage and legends.
DG: Exactly Emma. I definitely learned a lot about Taylor Swift this year just from being online and seeing viral TikToks (and working with Mary Kate Carr, to be honest). I didn’t have to be included in a specific corner of Swiftie, I felt omnipresent.
I: To answer Saloni’s question, I can’t think of another time where it felt like everyone knew the finer details of the show, down to the order of the setlist and what outfit the artist was wearing for which song.
SG: Completely. Fans and fan accounts constantly posted updates about these things: rosters/changes, outfits, surprise guests/songs, etc. The integration of social media definitely made Eras and Renaissance feel like spectacular pop culture events that you just had to be a part of.
I: I can’t think of another event where I’d willingly watch a grainy live stream instead of just waiting for official videos, at least.
SG: Both artists are incredibly vocal and have huge fan followings and I really think their work online has made a huge difference, especially to the younger audience. Other artists don’t have that many (except K-pop!)
DG: I feel like this feeds into another element of concerts this year: bad behavior from fans that was fueled by it going viral on social media.
I: Ugh, definitely. There have been so many incidents this year that it’s actually a wonder artists want to tour at all. I’m not surprised at that Miley Cyrus has said she’s quitting the tour forever, and I’d be even less surprised if more major artists follow her lead in 2024
SG: I don’t know what anyone hopes to gain other than viral appeal (disparagingly) when they throw things at an artist? What’s the point? Anyway, there was a really harmful tendency for that to happen this year with Bebe Rexha literally needing stitches, P!nk and more. This obviously sets a bad precedent and feels really scary.
Emma, you’re right. This adds to the pressure and has the potential to discourage both performers and attendees for safety reasons.
I: Even without fans throwing things at their favorites (ashes? sex toys?), the experience of going to a concert has become less fun overall between people carrying massive signs and recording entire sets on their phones and blocking shorter people (like me!) from seeing something. But maybe that’s just a personal grudge…
DG: I think there’s an interesting psychological element to it that I’m not qualified to talk about, but it seems like people can’t handle being a passive spectator anymore. They should be part of the action. It’s one thing to sing along with your favorite artist — I honestly don’t even like to do that normally, I like to sit back and relax and watch, but that’s me — and it’s another thing to need to be part of the show.
I: I agree, Drew.
SG: Hmm. you are very right and i understand it to some extent. Both Taylor and Beyoncé had these sweet elements to engage fans like chants for Eras and the silent challenge for Renaissance, it’s like you’re in sync with the artist for a while and it’s fun. But bad behavior took things to an unnecessary extreme.
DG: And Eras and Renaissance are just too big for anyone but the few blessed fans in the pit to do something like that. But even Taylor at one point had to ask people not to throw things on stage because it scares her — and that’s weird! You have no idea what it could be.
I: I wonder if this is part of the reason why the Ages and the Renaissance developed the way they did. Obviously, Taylor and Beyoncé are massive artists whose tours would be popular on their own, but they were both really smart to add these interactive elements so that fans don’t feel as motivated to create these moments themselves.
SG: On the other hand: It was also very nice to see good, normal behavior like exchanging all those friendship bracelets and Beyoncé asking people to wear silver. This adds to the overall element of attending a concert of your favorite artist, which most people want to experience.
DG: It was so nice to see someone normal this year.
SG: I can’t argue with that.
I: One of the best parts of going to a concert is interacting with other FANS as much (if not more!) as interacting with the artist himself, which Taylor and Beyonce hopefully gave people a little reminder of.
SG: Yeah, again it just helps explain why their tours stood out so much. I mean, Taylor is just adding dates to her schedule and fans all over the world seem willing to pay the price…literally.
DG: I will say that I went to see Madonna last weekend and talked to a few other fans before the show who were definitely older than me and had been to a few of her shows. It was my first and they were blowing me off about what to expect and what their favorite parts were and it was just so sweet. It was one of those things that I didn’t necessarily think about before I went, but I felt as good as the show when I left.
I: It makes me so happy. I feel like concerts for smaller acts have become almost like a competition to prove you love them the most or have waited the longest to win memorabilia or get to the front of the crowd. It’s hard to just hook up and have a good time.
DG: And, on the other hand, tickets to shows like Taylor or Beyoncé were so competitive that I was afraid to admit that I was a new fan. Not that Madonna is a “lesser artist,” but she didn’t break Ticketmaster. It felt more appropriate to go to a legacy act like this without every single lyric memorized.
I: Yes, I’ve seen a lot of comments from people on videos from both tours saying that the fans don’t deserve to be there if they only know the hits or couldn’t sing along just right.
SG: Oh I love this Drew, this is really lovely. It also makes me sad that I missed out on other artists I would have loved to see live, including those who didn’t get the constant attention these guys did. Taylor broke Ticketmaster and they didn’t learn their lesson about selling Beyoncé tickets, it turned into a real shitshow. Even if someone wants to attend the concert, the experience of buying a ticket is already a nightmare, at least for these iconic tours.
I: I’d love to see Olivia Rodrigo, for example, but I’m too scared to even try with the way the others have gone.
SG: We’ll just have to see more grainy TikToks from her singing “bad idea, right?”
DG: I went to see Lana Del Rey and had to fly to Pittsburgh to do it. But part of it was because she clearly never wanted to set foot in New York again.
SG: I would have loved to see boygenius this year, but that wasn’t in the plans. at least Phoebe opened for Taylor and it was excellent. But my goal for 2024 is to see more concerts and get back to the joy of live music with other fans.
DG: Let me ask this to close: what was your favorite show of yours I did to attend this year?
I: I got to see Paramore and it was such a good time. I’ve been a fan since rebellion! era and Hayley Williams is an extremely entertaining and engaging performer. I’m not going to say that screaming the bridge of Miserable Business to a sold-out stadium is Better than therapy, but it certainly comes close.
DG: I think flying to see Lana was probably my favorite, but John Baptiste in Brooklyn isn’t far behind. He put on one hell of a show.
SG: Eras tour, of course. Taylor really puts on a show, so you’ll never be bored, whether you’re a Swiftie or not. A stadium of about 75,000 people coming alive as they sing along to various songs from throughout her career? Yes, it was electric.
