Jason DeBord's Rock Subculture Journal

Florence + the Machine at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena | Stateline, Nevada | 8/9/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“Thank you so much for having us back; this is the first night of the “High As Hope Tour”.  This next song is from… oh you guys flustered me!  This next song is from High As Hope and I wrote it about the place that I was born which is south London, which has a lot less trees than this…”  Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena in South Lake Tahoe on Thursday night, kicking off her latest tour in support of her amazing new album.  “I’m with you…  I’m with you like… at the moment my heart, it hurts a lot of the time and I just want to say I want you all to hold hands because I really believe in you and I believe in the power of change.  And I believe in love and I want you to hold hands for this song because if we connect, I really think amazing things can happen”.  A lot of performing artists say things about connecting with their audience, and say those things from the stage, and the audience watch from below as they perform.  With Florence, it is not just words.  Toward the end of her set, into the song “Delilah”, Florence came off of the stage and ran deep into the audience while she sang, literally connecting with fans in the crowd.  Then she actually came running across (barefoot of course) the seat in the row I was in, and I got to witness first hand something unlike anything I’d ever seen at a concert.  Florence was engaging with fans one at a time, one on one.  In many instances she was grabbing their faces and pressing her forehead against theirs, as if she was forming a mystical bond with them.  She was right in front of me for a good length of time, and it was kind of surreal to hear her voice singing directly from her, not just through the sound system.  It’s actually been years since I uploaded concert footage to my YouTube channel, but it was such an incredible experience, I thought this would be the best reason ever to share a snippet of this amazing concert moment (iPhone quality, unedited): LINK  Really, it takes a lot to put me at a loss for words, but this concert really transcended what anyone might expect from a live show.  For some fans, I think it was a near religious experience.  Currently tied for my favorite concert of the year.  Definitely the best tour of 2018 I am guessing.  And since this was the first show on this tour, everyone has time to try to get out to make one of the upcoming dates.

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Florence + The Machine at The Masonic | San Francisco, California | 4/8/2015 & 4/9/2015 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“It’s so wonderful to be back in San Francisco.  It’s wonderful to be back in America, because actually the title of the record – How Big How Blue How Beautiful – was inspired by the American sky.  It was actually, in a text message…  I sent – I don’t want to break the mystery of it – but I sent to someone I really cared about a lot.  And this song was written about that time.   And about just how everything seemed endless, and beautiful, and that the world was a magical place.  And then if you hear the rest of the record, you may be able to tell that things got a bit… muh… but still, I feel like you come back to this feeling, always.”  Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine, providing an introduction to the title song of the upcoming album due out in June.  Playing two back-to-back shows at The Masonic in San Francisco, it was not only a set of concerts with new music, but seemingly a Florence with a bit of a different feeling.  I was lucky enough to catch two of their shows in 2012 (at the Mondavi Center in Davis and at the Hollywood Bowl), and the Florence I saw performing this week encompassed what I came to expect (an intense and phenomenal performer), but with flourishes of more joy than I’ve seen previously.  It made for even more captivating shows, as her and her incredible group of artists truly put on a masterful performance, with a mix of familiar and new.  I obviously attend a lot of concerts every year, but Florence + The Machine is one of the very few that can give me that adrenaline rush and tingle down my spine throughout – a real feat.  Being fortunate enough to attend both shows this week, while the set list was the same, the shows each had there own character, energy, and vibe.  With the preview of the new album, and the quality of the songs, it would appear that the band hasn’t hit any ceilings yet in terms of their gifts, talents and abilities, and I expect them to continue to soar in that big blue sky that Ms. Welch is so fond of…  in studio or on stage, they remain one of the top musical artists active today. [Read more…]