Video: Florence + The Machine's beautiful moment of silence for Aurora theater victims

Last night's Florence + The Machine show at Red Rocks is one attendees will always remember -- because of the music, of course, but also due to the expanded stretch when it stopped. According to our Kelsey Whipple, who reviewed the show, the encore began with lead singer Florence Welch...

By Michael Roberts

July 26, 2012

Audio By Carbonatix

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Last night's Florence + The Machine show at Red Rocks is one attendees will always remember -- because of the music, of course, but also due to the expanded stretch when it stopped. According to our Kelsey Whipple, who reviewed the show, the encore began with lead singer Florence Welch asking the crowd to take part in a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Aurora theater shooting. And as you'll hear in the video on view below, the crowd really was silent -- amazingly so, and for a really long time. The only exception, Whipple says, were the handful of fans who burst into tears before the Machine played the extremely appropriate "Never Let Me Go." Experience it for yourself below.

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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