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Florence + The Machine // Rogers Arena

October 25, 2015 - First day at Rogers Arena and my second arena shoot (the first being 1D..., but that's another story haha.)  I'm back for Beatroute and was BEYOND excited to shoot this show.  Also shout out to my mate, Daniel, for the birthday gift of a ticket for the show.  Just to clear it up for everyone, just because you're shooting a show, doesn't mean you get to stick around after without a ticket.  This applies to mainly larger shows, so don't think I'm too much of a lucky bastard!

First on the docket is The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tigera psychadelic, avant-garde folk act from New York City.  Not only to they have a bad ass name, but I soon learned that it also formed by Sean Lennon (yes, John Lennon's kid!) and his girlfriend/bassist Charlotte Kemp Muhl.  

It was remarkable to hear his father's presence in his voice and the influence in the instrumentals and visuals of the show.  Although the lighting was a bit hard to manage (imagine if stage lights took some acid, and then shot onto the musicians) but it made the show a lot of fun to watch.  Although not my particular cup of tea of music, the performance was super chill and lax, a total contrast of what was to come...

And finally, the headliner, Florence + The Machine.  I mean, unless you live under a bubble, you should know who these English indie rockers are!  After their formation in London in 2007, they blew up with the help of BBC, where they received the "Critic's Choice" award in '09.  The show had her running up and down the stage, through the aisles of the GA crowd and belting at the top of her lungs.  (See what I did there?)    Furthermore, the stage production was phenomenal (I wish I caught more of it, but stages are tall and I am short...) and Florence's voice was so theatrical, despite being so tiny and so soft-spoken.

I wish I got more photos of "the machine" but they were pretty far back and I couldn't quite get them with the stage being taller than me.  On another note, I tried using a different style of editing with some Legacy lens distortions and some Phlearn textures to give the images a better feel that I thought represented Florence.

For those who don't know, F+TM released an album earlier this year called How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and topped the UK charts.





Setlists

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger

  1. Too Deep
  2. Xanadu
  3. Animals
  4. Poor Paul Getty
  5. Meteor Eater
  6. Midnight Sun
  7. Devil You Know
  8. Golden Earrings (Gandalf cover)
  9. Moth to a Flame
  10. Long Gone (Syd Barrett cover)

Florence & The Machine

  1. What the Water Gave Me
  2. Ship to Wreck
  3. Shake It Up
  4. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
  5. Third Eye
  6. Delilah
  7. You've Got the Love (The Source cover)
  8. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
  9. Cosmic Love
  10. Sweet Nothing (Calvin Harris cover)
  11. Mother
  12. Queen of Peace
  13. Spectrum
  14. Dog Days Are Over
  15. What Kind of Man (Encore)
  16. Drumming Song (Encore)