Liner Notes: April - Florence + the Machine/Seven Devils/Perfume & Milk

We made it to the end of April! As is the way, let's start with a song:

Atlantic City is a weird place. You can sort of see what it once was and see the state of what it is today. In the late 19th century, Atlantic City was a vacation/leisure spot for people from Philadelphia and other nearby cities. Large houses and seaside resorts were popular and the boardwalk was eventually created as a leisure spot for visitors. In the 1920s and 1930s, Prohibition and organized crime (think Boardwalk Empire) changed the landscape of the town. Gambling was legalized in 1976 and that act completely changed the area. Casinos went up and Atlantic City became known as "Vegas East." Along the way, the Miss America pageant started and their office is still based at the Sheraton Convention Center. It feels abandoned and lived in all at the same time. There's a charm to it, but it also feels a little feral. Perhaps it's the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean that creates this particular vibe. 

So really, it's the best place to go to a Florence + the Machine concert for the first time. There's something very charming and feral about Florence. Watching her perform at Boardwalk Hall, one of the few remaining buildings from the late 1920s still in operation, was absolutely amazing. I won't bore you with a review of a concert you didn't go to, but I will say this: Go to a Florence + the Machine show if you have the opportunity to do so. It's definitely one of my top five concerts of all time (and I've seen some great shows) and it's probably one of the few concerts I've ever gone to where I didn't care what was played because I knew it would all be perfect...and I was right. 

In addition to debuting a glorious purple costume, Florence also performed "Kraken" for the first time live and played "Never Let Me Go" and "Hunger," two songs she doesn't play often and has only played a few times on this tour. Debuting "Kraken" in this location was so brilliant. I think she's adding it to the setlist now so I hope you get to see it live too.

What I loved most about the show, other than getting to spend time with Kelly, was the sense of community that exists within the Florence fandom. People were so pleasant and kind and so excited to be there. Unlike the Tori girls I talked about back in January, Florence girls are a little different. I never feel judged around a Florence girl. If anything, she'll hold my hand during a song and let me borrow her glitter makeup if I'd like. There are Florence girls who know all the lore, can tell you every dress color she's ever worn, and have theories about the subjects of songs, but they'd never use it to gatekeep. If anything, they'd want to tell it all to you. We made friends with the very inebriated women in front of us and friends with people in line. I gave out my butterfly pins and we got friendship bracelets. For two hours, we got to be in the world of Florence + the Machine. We got to scream and dance and cry and love. That's the power music. 

At the end of the encore, the band played "And Love," also from Everybody Scream. In her intro, Florence referred to song lyrics as spells and hoped that the lyrics for this song become the spell that the world needs. She was referring to the chorus:

Peace is coming
Peace is coming
Peace is coming
Peace is coming

It was an amazing end to a spectacular show. 

I didn't stitch those particular lyrics nor did I include lyrics from my favorite Florence + the Machine song ("My Boy Builds Coffins"). I couldn't get to every set of lyrics I wanted to include, so I picked lyrics that I felt were the most spell-like in their power and their mood. I picked lyrics that made me feel something the first time I heard them. I don't know if lyrics are spells or manifestations or little prayers, but I know they bring us what we need when we listen to them. 

I ended this month's Liner Notes entry with a few decorative touches. I hope you enjoy this spell book as much as I enjoyed making it. If you want to check out the setlist from the AC show you view it here.

Here are the last entries for this month's liner notes:

April 25

April 26

April 27

April 28

April 29

April 30

Up next: Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I'll post the first recap post for May on May 9 so there's more to talk about.

WIPs, a Road Trip, and Bea's Latest Adventures

I did make some progress on the mushroom needlepoint piece in Atlantic City. I arrived before Kelly so I had some time to work on it. All the blue is done and all that's left is the beige background. That's going to take some time but I'm hopeful I'll be done with this piece this month. It's going in my kitchen along with a few other pieces that are waiting for it to be finished.

I wasn't expecting it to be as cold and windy as it was in Atlantic City over the weekend but that didn't stop us from getting some bagels and having bagels on the Boardwalk. We even had a seagull friend hang out with us. I called him Steve.

I have no idea why there are dinosaurs outside of the Showboat Casino but there are dinosaurs outside of the Showboat Casinos. They look like they've seen things. 

I would like this photo displayed at my funeral. 

We also took a little drive to Ocean City, NJ because April 25 is not only the perfect date but it's Independent Bookstore Day! Super cute shop called Three Little Birds that also includes a bookstore called Sun Rose Words & Music. There was a thrift store next door and we checked that out too. I found some great jewelry and a ceramic serving set. Kelly found some awesome ties.

Meanwhile, Bea was having all sorts of adventures at my parents' house. She used this visit as an opportunity to see how many high up spots she could get to and to play a very intense game of hide and seek when I came home on Sunday. 

I finally found her on Sunday hiding under a chair but not in a visible way in my brother's TV room. She heard me calling her and just continued to hide. Such a mischievous creature. 

Since coming home, she's slept as close to me as possible each night and we've played so much. She's really into trying to capture the wand toy while in her space cube. Very funny.

She absolutely did not jump into the sink and lick butter off a knife the morning. She did not do that. 

Hope you have a great rest of your week and a fantastic weekend! Bea is going to help me organize for my final art/craft supply swap of the year.