Florence + The Machine @ The Lawn at White River State Park, Indianapolis on July 29th, 2012
Florence Welch must be a goddess…or a sorceress. Or maybe just very lucky. After nearly two months of record-breaking heat in Indianapolis, her second appearance at The Lawn at White River State Park was met with a miracle; perfect weather. Mid 70s with a light breeze and no humidity was a shocking change of pace, but it was only the beginning. The lines were long for this sold-out show and even before the gates open, the building excitement was thick in the air. Fortunately, the impending performance would not disappoint.
In the beginning there were suit-clad men filing on to the stage, with the front man carrying an acoustic in hand. The Watchmen, a New York native band, brought a fresh hipster-rock sound with them that was lively and driving. They were much better received and accessible than the previous year’s sloppy and hard-to-follow opener, even if they did bring the single wart of the evening with them; their untimely comment about hailing from New York where they still had a Manning brother. The moment was awkward and the crowd was visibly sore, seeing as they just recently lost their star Manning brother.
As the time approached for Florence and her machine to make their entrance, the golden hour light of sunset fell perfectly behind the stage providing a bold, heavenly glow to the band as they took their places. The sweet beginning notes of “Only If For A Night” fell on the crowd’s ears as Florence came into view. The static excitement erupted from the crowd and set the ball rolling for what would indeed be a night to remember. The set continued with favorites including “What The Water Gave Me” and “Rabbit Heart”, in which she asked for a few human sacrifices. In her signature melancholy interaction, she asked everyone to lift love ones on their shoulders and she counted out the first twenty she saw. The crowd was suddenly filled with their loved ones on their shoulders, all rising up to sing along with Flo. Our favorite front-lady proceeded to jump down from the stage, and ran feverishly through the crowd with her flowing gown barely able to keep up, touching hands as she moved freely around the park, before ending back on her stage. This was such an intimate interaction with a genuinely ethereal force.
From graciously thanking the crowd multiple times, to hanging fan made art and signs on The Machine’s piano, it was obvious this woman loved her fans, and absolutely everything they did for her. She even gave a shot-out to the book club, Between Two Books, that had been created in her name as a play-on of her debut album, Between Two Lungs. As the show progressed through a perfect climax curve, the stage lighting followed the mood perfectly as Flo moved into a haunting rendition of “Seven Devils”. This is one of this author’s personal favorite tracks, and it occurred just as the sun slipped behind the horizon and the stage was thrown into a wash of dim UV and blue lighting. Fans blew on stage to keep her dress flowing, and a single white spot light hit her from the rear. It was an incredibly impactive view, which moved straight into “Shake It Out” which is a very energetic crowd-pleaser that makes you wonder if it was written with live performance in mind. After that, the hit that started it all for Florence + The Machine brought back all of the energy that started the show with “Dog Days Are Over”, and fun was to be had by all… even the hardcore fans that scoff at the big hits. Not a single person there was stationary.
As the stage went dark and the band said their goodbyes, the crowd yelled for more. Encore! Encore! The blackness of the stage was brought to light with a row of lighthouse-style search lamps and “Never Let Me Go” amped Indianapolis once again. And just when everyone thought it was over, “No Light, No Light” carried the excitement and pure joy that had been an underlying theme of the concert all the way to the end. Florence left the stage waving an American flag given to her by a fan, while she blew kisses, having delivered completely the show her fans had only dreamed about and also a show that surely created some new believers.
The Good: Genuinely everything. As mentioned, the weather was flawless. There was worry about the quality of her voice as she had damaged her vocal chords only a few weeks prior, but she nailed her performance. The rest of the band was fabulous as well. There were stand-out performances from her percussionists, harpist, and backup singers.
The Bad: The opening act’s poorly executed comment about Eli Manning did actually create noticeable friction.