There is a back story of sorts.  Way back in the summer of 2022 in Virginia, we decided it would be fun to see Roxy Music and also Florence and the Machine when we could.  Happily, we managed to do both, but only with some doing.

The plan for the Florence show was to get to the UK on business in November, skip American “dead turkey day,” meet up with our best British friends, and catch the show in Manchester.  But somehow Florence broke her foot in London (while we were there) the day before the Manchester show.

We vowed to return.

Here are some bits from the show, an emotional powerhouse led by a charismatic master of the stage.  What a show.

The AO arena is a great place to see a show, mostly because the crowd is fantastic.  But the best reason to see a show there is because Noelie and Lisa are excellent hosts and are really fun to hang out with.

The crowd gathers.

We don’t even remember who the opener was.

Then, it was showtime!

Heaven is Here was the first song of the night.  Florence had shoes on.

 

Ship to Wreck

 

Free

Dog Days Are Over.  This is my favorite Florence song, and I was psyched it made the setlist.  The fucking phone diatribe was captured in bits.  Here it is in all its glory.

Of course the real Florence fan (and the reason we were all here) is Romey.  She knew all the words to all the songs and had a huge smile on her face.

Romey dances.

 

Morning Elvis

My Love

You’ve Got the Love is Romey’s favorite Florence song.  She was super psyched that it made the setlist.

The encore song Never Let Me Go had 20,000 people singing along.

Never Let Me Go, performed for the first time in a decade.

 

 

Shake it Out