Last Saturday night the 17th, I ventured to Madison Square Garden to see Florence and the Machine. It was the second time I had seen them with the first being in Boston a few years ago, but to me, shows in New York City always have an extra kick. This one was no different.
I first entered the building and sought out some food, ordering “The Big Deal” which was at a vegan stand and is the vegan version of the Big Mac, coming with impossible burgers. I guess they can’t officially use that term “Big Mac”. The food was delicious, but what followed with the show was nothing short of remarkable.
I took my seat in the Chase Bridges section, high above the rest of the seats and in the rafters. I was in the first row, so nothing but glass stood between me and the seats below. I’ll have to admit, the view took a bit to get settled into.
From the moment Florence took the stage with chandeliers descending from the ceiling (I was actually seated above them), she had the crowd seemingly under a spell. At some points, it seemed she was gliding on stage, whirling in her long dress and gracefully dancing as she sang the tunes. The security certainly got a workout as well with Florence running into the crowd at a few points and even crowd surfing once.
As a big fan of Halsey primarily and having been to a lot of Halsey shows over the years, I could tell Florence and the Machine fans have the same type of passion for their favorite artist as Halsey fans like myself do. The energy in the building was not only palpable, it was undeniable, and the loud crowd seemed to urge Florence to dance, whirl, and spin even more. After all, it is called the Dance Fever tour. At one point, she touched the face of a fan and they reacted as if an angel had touched them.
Well known tunes like “Dog Days are Over” rattled the building to the point it felt like it was shaking with all the jumping from the crowd. “Ship to Wreck” also sent the crowd into a frenzy, with plenty of hopping during that too. After a few songs, Florence asked the crowd to put their phones away, as we live spending too much time on screens according to her and she wanted us to be in the moment. While most artists don’t necessarily request that, I felt it was a refreshing change. Most people seemed to follow the instructions.
I felt almost like I was in a meditative state during the middle of the set, with captivating songs that put you into relaxation mode with the soothing voice of Florence Welch. The show eventually picked back up again, but those tunes sure were able to put the crowd that was in a frenzy not too long ago into Zen mode. That is one thing I found particularly impressive about Florence, the versatility of the songs.
By the end of the show, Florence asked for a few “human sacrifices” to jump on people’s shoulders before playing “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)” to close out the show. Some people did oblige, to her giddy pleasure.
I walked out of the show having had an uplifting concert experience. During the mundane parts of life, we sometimes tend to forget there are great experiences like this out there. We need only take the journey to experience them.
Writing Through It 