Prom 69: Florence + The Machine, Jules Buckley Orchestra, Florence Welch / J. Buckley

**PhilipT** · 12-09-24, 11:07

I went, along with about a dozen other Arena regulars. It wasn't a waste of time. Florence was full of energy, and Jules Buckley and his orchestra did a fine job, but the numbers got a bit same-y after a while. The F+TM groupies are really lovely young people, although some of the ladies need to be educated in the merits of flesh-coloured underwear.

One thing that wasn't good was that so many had bought Arena season passes just for this one concert, and had no intention of going to anything else. Those who hadn't were all tapping madly at their mobile 'phones from 10:00am onwards, waiting for booking to open at 10:30am. When it did, they were allocated randomly to positions in the Waiting Room. A few hundred did get tickets - lots of regular season pass holders didn't go and hadn't booked - but there were stories of Waiting Room positions of 15,000. Apparently the website was upgraded recently and did not crash. Many people who had queued from early in the morning but did not have tickets were disappointed and left, so the queue shuffled up.

The whole thing was a blend of Prom and gig. The groupies commented on how different it was to a normal gig, but what I noticed was how different it was to a normal Prom. Not just the audience, but rules such as "no bottle tops" (apparently throwing filled water bottles at the stage is a thing), "no re-admittance", wristbands and so on.

And it seems I will have to invest in some "loop earplugs".

**parkepr** · 12-09-24, 11:32

Originally posted by PhilipT View Post

I went, along with about a dozen other Arena regulars. It wasn't a waste of time. Florence was full of energy, and Jules Buckley and his orchestra did a fine job, but the numbers got a bit same-y after a while. The F+TM groupies are really lovely young people, although some of the ladies need to be educated in the merits of flesh-coloured underwear.

One thing that wasn't good was that so many had bought Arena season passes just for this one concert, and had no intention of going to anything else. Those who hadn't were all tapping madly at their mobile 'phones from 10:00am onwards, waiting for booking to open at 10:30am. When it did, they were allocated randomly to positions in the Waiting Room. A few hundred did get tickets - lots of regular season pass holders didn't go and hadn't booked - but there were stories of Waiting Room positions of 15,000. Apparently the website was upgraded recently and did not crash. Many people who had queued from early in the morning but did not have tickets were disappointed and left, so the queue shuffled up.

The whole thing was a blend of Prom and gig. The groupies commented on how different it was to a normal gig, but what I noticed was how different it was to a normal Prom. Not just the audience, but rules such as "no bottle tops" (apparently throwing filled water bottles at the stage is a thing), "no re-admittance", wristbands and so on.

And it seems I will have to invest in some "loop earplugs".

Thanks for the report PhillipT. I did listen to her album when it came out some years back and enjoyed it... Had a listen to a few of last nights tracks and like orchestral addition to her songs... I see Anna Lapwood was in the Organ hotseat again... good to see. I think this concert will be on TV and will look out for it...

**bluestateprommer** · 12-09-24, 15:22

Originally posted by PhilipT View Post

I went, along with about a dozen other Arena regulars. It wasn't a waste of time. Florence was full of energy, and Jules Buckley and his orchestra did a fine job, but the numbers got a bit same-y after a while. The F+TM groupies are really lovely young people, although some of the ladies need to be educated in the merits of flesh-coloured underwear.

One thing that wasn't good was that so many had bought Arena season passes just for this one concert, and had no intention of going to anything else....

From a purely audio listening perspective, my impression was the same as yours about the similarity of the songs as the evening progressed. Sort of "17 shades of blood orange", if that makes sense. While the songs were certainly not carbon-copies of each other, they fell into the same general vibe. I didn't know the work of Florence + The Machine until this concert, so this was my own personal crash course and introduction to it. There was a perhaps drolly revealing moment when it sounded as though Florence Welch missed an entrance and started a few bars early, then ad-libbed a comment about Jules Buckley telling about "come in 8 measures from now", and she quipped "what does that mean?".

On the Arena season pass situation with the F+TM groupies: well, it's their loss if they didn't check out any other Proms ;) . (Not even Sam Smith? One wonders.) That aside, if nothing else, the RAH and the BBC Proms finance departments probably appreciated the additional revenue. If nothing else, and at the risk of sounding gauche, that extra revenue probably helped to cover less populist offerings like "Songs of Wars I Have Seen" or the BBC NOW Prom of Schoenberg and Zemlinsky.

PS: Review from The Guardian:

Florence and the Machine: Symphony of Lungs review – one crescendo of ecstasy after another

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/sep/12/florence-and-the-machine-symphony-of-lungs-review-prom-69--jules-buckley

An appropriately maximal reading of debut album Lungs, made with Jules Buckley’s orchestra at Prom 69, provides a grand stage for Welch’s even grander voice

**Darkbloom** · 13-09-24, 12:35

Originally posted by PhilipT View Post

I went, along with about a dozen other Arena regulars. It wasn't a waste of time. Florence was full of energy, and Jules Buckley and his orchestra did a fine job, but the numbers got a bit same-y after a while. The F+TM groupies are really lovely young people, although some of the ladies need to be educated in the merits of flesh-coloured underwear.

One thing that wasn't good was that so many had bought Arena season passes just for this one concert, and had no intention of going to anything else. Those who hadn't were all tapping madly at their mobile 'phones from 10:00am onwards, waiting for booking to open at 10:30am. When it did, they were allocated randomly to positions in the Waiting Room. A few hundred did get tickets - lots of regular season pass holders didn't go and hadn't booked - but there were stories of Waiting Room positions of 15,000. Apparently the website was upgraded recently and did not crash. Many people who had queued from early in the morning but did not have tickets were disappointed and left, so the queue shuffled up.

The whole thing was a blend of Prom and gig. The groupies commented on how different it was to a normal gig, but what I noticed was how different it was to a normal Prom. Not just the audience, but rules such as "no bottle tops" (apparently throwing filled water bottles at the stage is a thing), "no re-admittance", wristbands and so on.

And it seems I will have to invest in some "loop earplugs".

Thanks for the review. I'm still not sure of the point of these concerts, though. They're stand-alone crossover events so there's no chance of sneaking in different repertoire (as is standard for contemporary music, where they put more challenging material with old favourites) so it's just another gig that happens to be at the RAH and barely a Prom at all (as you mentioned). I remember they did Act 3 of Walkure at Glastonbury one year, which I can see might work (given all the different stages they have) but this one just looks like an attempt to look relevant and nothing else. I heard someone in the queue the other day jokingly wondering whether we'll get Oasis next year. It wouldn't totally surprise me if we did.

**DracoM** · 13-09-24, 14:46

R1/R2 goes Proms?
Have made no effort to listen to a single Proms concert this season.
Looked at programme details and just sighed.

**LMcD** · 13-09-24, 16:57

Originally posted by DracoM View Post

R1/R2 goes Proms?
Have made no effort to listen to a single Proms concert this season.
Looked at programme details and just sighed.

I've listened to/watched 7 or 8.

**kernelbogey** · 19-10-24, 09:53

Florence + the Machine at the Proms
8.20pm, BBC Two - tonight 19.10.24

A chance to see and hear why Florence + her band made their way into the Proms this year. I'll try and watch.

**french frank** · 19-10-24, 11:18

Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post

Florence + the Machine at the Proms
8.20pm, BBC Two - tonight 19.10.24

A chance to see and hear why Florence + her band made their way into the Proms this year. I'll try and watch.

And do report back! If they explain why the concert was included in the Proms that will be informative.

**kernelbogey** · 19-10-24, 11:46

Originally posted by french frank View Post

And do report back! If they explain why the concert was included in the Proms that will be informative.

The presenters are likely to be too breathless to report that!

**french frank** · 19-10-24, 12:09

Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post

The presenters are likely to be too breathless to report that!

Yeah, that John Shea

**bluestateprommer** · 27-10-24, 15:32

Recent New York Times article on Florence Welch for anyone interested:

How Florence Welch Turned Rage Into Power

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/17/t-magazine/florence-welch-machine-dance-fever-music.html

Nearly two decades into her career, the singer still sounds like no one else out there.

**mikealdren** · 27-10-24, 18:04

Is there a Radio 1 or Radio 2 equivalent of this site? Perhaps they might be interested?

Prom 69: Florence + The Machine, Jules Buckley Orchestra, Florence Welch / J. Buckley

Prom 69: Florence + The Machine, Jules Buckley Orchestra, Florence Welch / J. Buckley

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