r/FlorenceAndTheMachine

Well done tonight, Seattle! The crowd was absolutely electric and the lack of phones was a beautiful thing to see. You could tell Florence fed off the crowd so much and was positively beaming half the show.

Wishing safety and happiness for all the lovely people I met in line and in the venue today, and an amazing final four shows for Florence on this leg 😁🤍🤎

Hi Florence besties, can I be vulnerable for a sec? I’m a long time lurker, usually too shy to post anything so I just bask in the joy of loving this artist. Yesterday, before the Seattle show, I had a self harm relapse after 5 years. I was so distraught and ashamed and exhausted, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to go. I’m so so glad I did, though. I basically cried through the whole thing. Even though the loud drunk people who spilled wine on my new sweater took me out of it for a moment lol, the show and this fandom was a religious experience, just like every other time. Every time she spoke in that lilting, sweet voice, it healed something in me. She saw me in every song. I’ve been a fan from the very beginning, but last night I felt changed. Just wanted to put it into words ❤️

My Seattle Florence fam, you really turned it out last night. I was the tall individual on stage right with the big witch hat with the funeral veil attached - I wanted to reach out here and offer a thank you for how welcome you all made me feel, and how much I appreciated the compliments. I came very close to not wearing that hat.

My mom died over the holidays and this album has been a deep comfort to me in my grief. I wore the funeral veil both to 'commit to the witchy bit' but also to quite literally and earnestly attend the concert in mourning. I'm a very novice sewist & designer and originally intended to complete a bat wings-style capelet with the ES runes hand embroidered on it to wear with the hate, but was unable to finish in time. It was important to me that I wear something handmade so I hurriedly stitched the lace onto my hat brim and hoped for the best.

It meant the world to me to arrive to a big event and be so encouraged and complimented based on something I made (even if it feels unfinished or unpolished to me). It may seem like a little thing in passing, but I've been reflecting on what Florence said last night on the nature of songwriting and making art, and how it doesn't really make much sense until your art is out in the world and seen by other people. Last night felt like a little nudge to keep sewing and designing and writing and creating - so thank you for your part in that affirmation.

I grew up in the Southwest, and bats in particular have had a special significance for me in my grief. My mom and I used to watch the bats that migrate in my hometown and appear in giant clouds at dusk. My first thought after my mom's passing was that "grief feels like echolocation" and how bat-like I feel while grieving - I keep screaming to find her, and now only an empty space is reflected back to me. Last night felt like I got a much needed scream back.

In that spirit, I wanted to check here to see if anyone from Seattle or the fandom at large might be able to help with the following:

• If anyone has a spare Bat Fan they'd be open to sell, I will happily cover the merch price and any shipping (or a coffee meet up if you're local to Seattle!). I was unable to snag one from the merch table and would really love to commemorate that special tie to the album and the event.
• If anyone can connect me with the person that had the GORGEOUS all black cape that spread out like bat wings with "EVERYBODY SCREAM" in red on the back - I didn't get the chance to compliment them in person, but if that person sees this and is comfy sharing any photos, I would love to reference that design or chat construction! It was beautiful work and I actually gasped when I saw it.

Lastly, I met and took photos with a ton of you - if you'd like to be friends post-concert, feel free to drop a line here or on Instagram. Always down for more community to hang with at the next Florence show.

Sending all my very best to anyone reading this. If I've learned anything about grief, it's that it teaches us exactly what we need in order to truly LIVE. Whoever you are, I hope that clarity finds you, and that you are comforted by something as much as I have been comforted by this album. To echo(locate) Florence's encouragement from last night: "Peace is coming." May we all be held <3

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Edit: I appreciate the callout around concert etiquette and apologize to anyone whose view was impacted. I can’t help my height but could have removed the hat, and will think of other creative things to make for Florence shows in the future that don’t add to my height. I (obviously) don’t make it to a lot of concerts and was caught up in my feels.

I’ve removed my Instagram handle due to some messages that I’ve received, but I am happy to connect with folks who’d like that - please just DM me here. I completely understand that I frustrated folks and that’s totally valid, I do hear you and apologize. Please refrain from cruel sentiments about my mom, though.

It’s the one song on the album I’m just kind of unsure of… I’m not really sure how to interpret it. Specifically the ‘it came from me’ twist at the end lol.

Will the LA shows be the definite last stop of the “Everybody Scream” tour or is there any speculation that she’ll add more shows in the U.S. or abroad? Went to the phx show last weekend and want to go again :(

I'll admit, the first listen I was not sold, and I do see that now as it taking me a minute to calibrate internally when it first released so I could appreciate it properly. DF was an immediate love of mine. The day it released, I started it on repeat before going back to bed and and I was aware enough while listening asleep that multiple key moments pulled me fully awake just to enjoy them actively for a moment. I loved that album.

I find it wild how hard it is for me to listen to it now. I thought it was the peak of artistry when it released, and I could not fathom loving an album more, and now trying to listen to DF instead of ES when I have the Florence itch is comparable to the difference between expert, lithe fingers working next to frozen, unwieldly, almost numb fingers. It feels so much more clumsy. I love the album, and I have loved every album, but it stays shocking to me that each new release feels so much more expert than the last that going back is hard unless I am caught in a particular nostalgia or in the mood for a specific song. Especially given that it had to grow on me, I just feel shocked every time this comes up. Sometimes I even WANT to listen to DF and try it, only to be like..... eh, nah. Gotta get the most direct line to the purest source like some kind of addict.

I watched an interview recently where she essentially said she wasn't interested in reinventing herself all the time but instead preferred to lean harder and harder into what she already knows she is and perfecting it. It shows in a way I cannot compare to almost any other artists I actually keep up with. It makes me actively hungry for the next album, which feels like not appreciating what we have at this moment, but GOD, I want to see where she can possibly go from here and waiting sucks. I think so many "artists" chase being multifaceted and marketable to the most people instead of honing what they're best at and sharpening it into something that will cut like butter and she DOES and the difference in output is stunning for it. Anyway, been spinning it on repeat the last few days to increasing shock that it stays so satisfying despite my constantly gnawing at the marrow. Just. What an incredible gift to exist at the same time that this music is being made.