Seeing Florence + The Machine live was truly a unique experience. For an hour and a half, we could not tell if we were running through a field, liberated of all worries or trapped at a séance, surrounded by screaming sitters.
At first, we thought that the Target Center would be a rather unideal concert location, but it worked out just fine. Accessibility was our main concern, but cheap $6 parking and a series of skyways, avoiding the cold, proved that we had nothing to worry about. Sitting away from the general admission on-court section limited our ability to dance and removed us a bit from the performance, but Florence was able to find a way to engage all of her fans.
The concert opened with Florence’s fellow Brit, Rachel Chinouriri. The Target Center lights still shone bright through the stands’ entrances as people trickled in. There were very few people, and the overall atmosphere was a bit awkward and lacked energy. However, she quickly won us over with an expression of her immense joy to be performing in the Twin Cities and her vulnerability in sharing the personal experiences that inspired her music.
After about 45 minutes of waiting, Florence took the stage. She too shared her joy in starting her tour in Minneapolis, and how she hoped she could provide all of her fans a break from the stress and worry this past year has brought.
Florence has an incredible voice, and her passion for music, love, and spirituality easily drew us in. The Machine’s multiple drumsets and a harp added a magical touch, and the group was accompanied by four backup dancers who followed Florence around as if they were part of a cult and she was their leader.
Florence bounced between upbeat songs such as “Shake it Out,” about spiritual rebirth and letting go of regrets, and more intense songs like “Seven Devils,” a harmonic song focusing on immense rage and turmoil. Some other songs include “Which Witch,” a piece about a young witch accused of causing her lover’s accidental death, and “Big God,” discussing the pain of getting ghosted.
Florence separated these deeply emotional songs through short talks with the audience, allowing everyone a second to breathe and reset. During these discussions, she would share her thought process in developing her songs and her anxiety in sharing some of these pieces. For someone who writes so heavily and vulnerably about her love life, and presents it in such an intense way, she is very nervous about how people view her. However, this made her seem more human than her music had felt online. We could finally connect with Florence as a person, rather than a musician.
Overall, the concert was a truly remarkable event, and Florence + The Machine is a must-see group. The Target Center did not provide the best atmosphere, particularly if you are not on the court. It definitely was not as much fun an experience as a smaller venue, like the Palace Theater in St. Paul might have been. However, it is still a worthwhile experience if you really enjoy the singer or the band’s music.
