Going with the Flo & her Machine at Minnesota Zoo

Drama queen Florence Welch at the Minnesota Zoo

Star Tribune photo by Leah Millis

The young woman next to me in the college track jacket watched almost the entire Florence + the Machine concert Friday at the Minnesota Zoo through her cellphone recorder.

Was it because this was a spectacularly ambitious production for the usually modest zoo (with its minimal space and setup time) or was it just the way some people are these days?

I'm hoping it was the former but I'm thinking it's the latter.

As mentioned in my review, Florence Welch not only brought a painted backdrop (flowers, birds and such) but also strobe lights, bird cages and enough stage fog for the other 33 shows at the zoo this summer. Flo played a tom tom drum during a couple of numbers and a tambourine on another, danced barefoot all over the stage and generally carried on like she was still playing to a giant crowd at Bonnaroo (which she did the other day).(Btw, this concert was not officially part of the Music in the Zoo series, hence there were no signs from sponsors hanging over the stage or the stands.)

Florence + the Machine did most of the songs from her only album, "Lungs," (I wish she'd done the punkish, Pretenders-evoking "Kiss with a Fist") as well as three new numbers. (Near the end of "Dog Days Are Over," she repeated a question shouted by a fan: "When is my next album coming out? I'm not sure. You'll have to wait and see.")

Loved her sense of humor such as when she introduced her band members (and Steve the Crow), she said the mosquitos were not part of her crew.

Do you think the color of her outfit affects one's perception of the show? It's always a billowy gown with a matching shawl. While she wore raspberry to Apple Valley, she has opted for black, white and yellow in other cities. No matter the outfit, color the concert dark.

Here is Flo's set list from the zoo:

My Boy Builds Coffins/ Between Two Lungs/ Drumming Song/Strangeness & Charm (new) / Howl/ I'm Not Calling You a Liar/ Hurricane Drunk/ What the Water Gave Me (new) / Cosmic Love/ Blinding/ You've Got the Love/ Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) / ENCORE Bedroom Hymns (new) / Dog Days Are Over