Everybody Scream: The Magic of Florence Welch
Article ★ Hadley Balser ★ @hadleybalseronpitch ★ 2 Minutes
Florence Welch, known professionally as Florence and the Machine, has been making music for nearly two decades. With the release of their first album, Lungs, she has amassed a cult following centered around her unique, witchy sound, operatic vocals, and unbelievable live shows.
Listening to Florence pre-show versus post-show is an entirely different experience. Their music is made to be experienced live. Welch performs songs as if they are magic spells cast upon the audience, muttering incantations and shouting words of prayer.
Florence Welch, photographer unknownBefore witnessing her show in Tampa, FL, in April, I was a casual listener of Florence and the Machine, at most. My partner loves their music, and I came along to the concert with her, expecting a good show. I was not prepared for how different the band’s discography feels when watching Welch glide smoothly over the stage, singing with the fullest of emotion and performing her heart out.
“Everybody Scream,” the titular song from her current touring album, Everybody Scream, perfectly encapsulates how a Florence show feels. In this song, Welch describes the relationship between herself and performing: “But look at me run myself ragged / Blood on the stage / But how can I leave when you’re screaming my name?”
The full meaning of this song cannot be clearly understood unless you witness her stage presence and the electrifying interactions Welch has with the crowd. During a staggering performance of “Sympathy Magic,” Welch extended a verse of the track into a sweetly eerie message to the audience, saying “So come on, come on, I can take it / Give me everything you got” and repeating “What else? What else?” as the crowd leaned into her, cultlike and rapt. Welch walked around the stage, embracing fans and looking as if she was singing directly for them, as a way to ease their inner turmoil.
No listener could understand Everybody Scream as an album without witnessing this charge, and the spark Welch carries to every member of the audience. I was blown away by what Welch brings to the stage, reminding me of Stevie Nicks' 1977 performance of “Rhiannon.” Welch is not just a modern-day Nicks, though. She does something entirely unique, drawing on the sounds of old-soul singers and the rampant creativity of Bowie and Kate Bush alike.
Her soul influences are clear in the ringing deepness of her vocals, a sound heard on her studio recordings that seems almost ethereal in real life. Welch’s voice holds power and takes up space in the room, filling it to the brim with rich sound. My current favorite Florence song, “Big God,” provides me with a new listening experience post-concert. The sheer range Welch displays on this song is remarkable, from her usual powerful belting to a raspier, deep tone on the lyrics “Let it slide down to the / Slide down to the sea.”
The live experience is truly like no other, and Florence and the Machine are no exception. Though the North American leg of the tour is now over, the Everybody Scream Tour continues in Europe through August.
