While traveling in Maryland in June, I had some lucky timing and was able to catch a show by the tremendous Florence and the Machine. The gig was at the large Merriweather Post Pavilion. Florence did a solid job with her ticket sales and there wasn't much lawn space left when she took the stage right around 9pm.
Now Florence is having an absolute huge year. She released her third album entitled How Big, How Blue, and How Beautiful to very positive reviews. She also is a constant at the top of festival posters this year, including headlining slots at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Voodoo Fest. She even filled in as the headliner for the mighty Foo Fighters after Dave Grohl's leg injury at Glastonbury. So the opportunity to see her in a stand alone show was very much worthy the $75 ticket price.
Going in, I wasn't sure how active Florence would be on stage. After all, she had broken her foot just two and a half months prior at Coachella. I thought she may be stool bound or at least just not be doing any running. Man was I wrong.
Right from the start, Florence was active running across the stage. She jumped, sang, and was even in the crowd, climbing over seatbacks by the second song. The energy she had was unexpected but awesome.
The British singer songwriter urged the crowd to be active with her. For her third tune, 'Raise it Up,' she requested that everyone in the audience, get on someone else's shoulders. She then sang the tune and departed into the pit to dance with the fans in the best seats. (She was probably in the crowd 10 different times throughout the night, so the pit members got their money's worth)
The fourth tune was her biggest hit to date with 2011's 'Shake it Out.' Florence had a beautifully slow opening to this massive hit, drawing the audience in, before exploding through the remainder. I swear, after four songs, I felt like I has seen a full set. That's how much energy and emotion went into the first 20 minutes of the performance.
Throughout the set, there never seemed to be a dull moment. For every song that was a bit slower and showed off her vocal abilities, a more up beat number would follow, prompting any sitting audience members to get right back up. I thought her best new song followed 'You've Got the Love' with 'Queen of Peace.' This saw the front women running from one end of the stage to the other.
One of the things that surprised me the most was the strange character of Florence. I mean, she is definitely a bit out there. Multiple times throughout the evening, she asked the audience the strip down and get naked. Now I've seen this same tactic by smaller bands in a club environment (Twenty One Pilots, Cherub, Capital Cities), but I've never seen an artist make this request in a large Amphitheater. It seemed even more odd because Florence's audience has quite the age range.
But she wanted people to strip, run wild and just love everything around them. At one point she screamed out - "Now turn to the person to the left of you....AND JUST TOUCH THEIR FACE!" It was a bit wacky, but her fan base definitely buys into what she's selling.
The show ended in appropriate fashion with an excellent encore. Florence explained she was going to play a tune she rarely plays live, and one that only fans who have been with her since the beginning would recognize. She then departed into the crowd to sing 'Kiss With a Fist.' I've always thought of that as one of her strongest songs, and was very surprised to hear it's not a regular on her setlist every night.
Overall, great night seeing Florence and the Machine. She has the vocals to take over the ampitheather, but clearly the energy to bring the performance to that next level. I'm alright with her headlining major festivals this summer. She's deserved it.
CONCERT RATING: 4.5 Stars
SETLIST:
1. What the Water Gave Me
2. Ship to Wreck
3. Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)
4. Shake It Out
5. Sweet Nothing
6. How Big How Blue How Beautiful
7. Long & Lost
8. You've Got the Love
9. Queen of Peace
10. What Kind of Man
11. Spectrum
12. Dog Days Are Over
Encore:
13. St. Jude
14. Delilah
15. Kiss with a Fist (first time live since 2012)
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