#bracing myself for the florence stans who will jump all over this post

[millerflintstone]

While I really enjoyed experiencing Florence Welch singing live and feeling her voice just wash over and through me some things were a bit troubling.

As much as everyone seems to want to deny it in the media, we're still in a pandemic. It's not over. During Dream Girl Evil she was so close to so many people in the front, cradling faces, putting her face so close to strangers' unmasked faces. Yes, everyone has their comfort level and if you are opting to be that close to other people you don't know without a mask you are taking your chances but it made me uncomfortable to witness it. Very stark contrast to the TMBG show I saw via livestream. They request that everyone in their audience wear KN-95 or N-95 masks but then most of their venues are indoors.

She mentioned she really only has performing as a skill during a part of the show where she was talking about how during the lockdown she was not sure if she'd have a job going forward. During the drive home, Unfriendly brought this up and said that if she wanted to she could probably start a cult or a commune. There are some very devoted fans that were dressed to emulate her style, complete with flower crowns. Some folks even had makeup that looked like they were crying blood. And while yes, a lot of what she did was performance and it's maybe no different than dressing up like a goth at goth shows, I could see someone very impressionable being easily manipulated by all of this. While I kid about her being part fae or being witchy, she is still human. The reverence on some people's faces reminded me of that Sally Simpson song by The Who.

The spotlight and main lighting were really just on her. The band was in very dim lighting in comparison and she never introduced her band. They rarely got any big screen video coverage, too. She did thank everyone responsible for the creation of the show in general which a lot of performers don't do. It did bug me that she didn't introduce her band.

I would still go see her in concert again, though. I wonder what it would be like to experience her voice in a closed venue vs an amphitheater.