Concert review
These days, it seems like you can’t go to a concert without phones being held up at any time.
It makes sense that we’d want to capture a moment that we’re excited about, likely paid a pretty penny for and can post on our social media feeds for all our friends to see.
But Florence Welch of famed English band Florence and the Machine wants you to rethink that.
“Filming this song will stop you from experiencing this song,” she said before singing the last chorus of “Dog Days Are Over,” one of the final tunes of the Tuesday night show at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. “And isn’t that why you came?”
As she started singing again, the arena was lit up and the crowd was visible — well, as visible as it could be when you have tears in your eyes. Witnessing an arena full of people jumping, clapping, dancing and singing to a beloved song without countless phones in sight makes you feel a sense of joy and liveliness so special and cathartic in our smartphone-addicted world.
But even before Welch’s request to ditch the phones (or as she called it, “perform a small ritual together”), they were a rare sight last night. Most of her fans seemed more interested in engaging with the group’s music — even the ones who were close enough to get shots without zooming in — and they had good reason to be paying attention.
Welch and the Machine, and a quartet of dancers and backup singers called the Witch Choir, performed a show with nothing to hide behind; no pyro, confetti, outfit changes or an elaborate stage to distract or dazzle. Welch made her intentions clear at the beginning of the show.
“Whatever you have been through, whatever you are going through, know that I’m with you, and I hope we can provide you with a place to scream,” she said, referring to the name of the tour, named after the band’s latest album, “Everybody Scream.” And the Seattle crowd was up to the task.
After pausing the show briefly to fix a wardrobe malfunction that could have caused her to trip (something she feared doing as she’s broken her foot performing before), Welch admitted, “It’s been a long tour.” She said the crowd’s rousing participation in “Which Witch” “brought her back to life” and that Seattle’s jumping was maybe the best she’s seen on the tour.
Welch jumped right along with the crowd, and skipped, twirled and ran, all without missing a note. Her vocals came off as effortless, often soaring through the arena with her signature operatic vibrato. And the Witch Choir was right there with her. Aptly named, it was easy to imagine they were a coven as they convulsed, crawled and sang haunting backup vocals.
The whole show seems to bring the tour’s namesake song to life. In “Everybody Scream,” Welch tells listeners to “dance,” “sing,” “move,” “scream” and, of course, “put down (their screens).” The song also details her complicated relationship with performing — but fans can be glad she keeps coming back to it.
After all, “The thing about songwriting is it doesn’t really make sense when you’re writing it,” Welch explained to the crowd. “But it all makes sense when I see you singing it back to me.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yakimaherald.com ’
