Joan Baez, Taylor Swift, David Byrne: What’s Going on?

As we have strolled down Thayer Street, enjoying the autumnal atmosphere of Providence these last few weeks, I’m sure that many of us have looked up at the Avon sign and noticed that they have been screening the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie alongside the Joan Baez: I Am a Noise film. These are both 2023 releases, and with Taylor Swift’s international concert tour being one of the most defining pop culture features of the year (so far…), it is hard to ignore the upbeat and sequined insanity. When it comes to Taylor Swift, I tend to find it helpful to break it down to the financials - the Eras Tour, not even halfway through all the planned shows, has so far earned around $780 million, with the average ticket price reportedly being $1619. In comparison, the relatively inexpensive price of an IMAX ticket has been touted as the “great equalizer” among Swifties, allowing people who couldn’t afford to attend or logistically get to an in-real-life concert. And yet, the film is not quite an act of charity either, as the Eras Tour has grossed $200 million globally, accounting for over 18% of the global box office since the tour film opened. It is the highest-grossing concert film of a woman, the second highest ever, only behind the documentary Michael Jackson’s This Is It Tour.

Of course, the concert film/music documentary is not a new genre. One of the first films I ever remember seeing in the theater was (very randomly) the One Direction concert documentary This Is Us (I don’t think I even knew who they were). Elsewhere, the Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, a 1983 documentary that, having recently been acquired from A24, was rereleased in September of this year. Directed by the late Jonathon Demme, primarily of Silence of the Lambs fame, described by A24 in the trailer as “the greatest concert film.” The RISD-originating band sings, dances, and shouts, with enigmatic frontman David Byrne wearing his signature oversized suit. This one is, in a word, fun. To quote Jerry Harrison, a member of the band, “We were having so much fun on stage that the audience couldn’t resist joining us and having fun. There was such a communication between us as musicians and between the audience and us.” I think that this is really the aim of the concert film - to capture the “fun” and allow it to be shared and continued to new generations of fans, or people from all over the world.

I Am a Noise has received the lowest rating (per Letterboxd (I know, I know)) of the three films, with suggestions that it perhaps falls a bit flat due to being billed as a “music documentary” which contains very little exploration of Baez’s artistic and musical process, as well as her actual discography. The focus on 1960s counterculture and pacifistic political activism continues a trend of romanticization of a bygone (and - more or less - failed) movement. As well as a Tik-Tok-generation focus on the tragic backstory or literal understanding of art, which makes for both a fascinating and emotionally-stirring film, as well as happening to detract from Baez’s actual artistic talent. The almost simultaneous (re)releases of these three music-centered films strikes a chord with me in terms of how we conceptualize both music and the documentary as a cinematic form, whether the primary goal is to capture the music or tell the story of the artist, and how we should interact with the music we listen to.