I think it's testament to the sheer power of a Florence + The Machine show that I've listened to nothing but her last two albums since she set foot on the 02 stage last Friday night. Florence - and her Machine - have played Ireland three times before but I'd never quite managed to catch her, but my god she was worth the wait.
(Aside: I'd arrived at the 02 with two friends at around half six - we had decided not to drink prior to the concert, but maybe buy something there. Innocently making our way to the bar, I whipped out my ID and ordered two mojhitos...only to be told that it was an over-19s bar. What?! How does that work?! I was not pleased at all. What's the use of being eighteen when you can't spend seven euro on a Smirnoff Ice?)
The flame haired mistress of folky pop exploded on stage at 9.30, belting out Ceremonials opener Only if for a Night with slightly terrifying intensity.
Florence isn't particularly big on stage - Danielle described her as "like a feather" - but the huge cape and huger quantities of eyeshadow gave the impression of a giant, bedazzled bird.
I could make crap comparisons about how she looks for hours on end, but like Adele, Amy Winehouse and so many others, we don't care how Florence looks. At the end of the day, my mind was too blown by her voice to notice much else.
Add this to the sirenlike voice and the eye-rolling and the whole experience was a little unnerving. A lot of the Ceremonials material is darker than Lungs', its predecessor, and Only If...is not exception to this. Quite the way to start the night. Yet she didn't let up, blasting through 11 songs, from the sweet as sugar All This and Heaven Too to the definite fan favourite Cosmic Love and finishing up with new single No Light, No Light, a song that makes its album version sound like me playing piano when performed live.
Does anyone else get that convert hysteria where they think their photos are great and they all end up looking like this?
Florence's voice is surprising in it's range - at some points I couldn't hear her over the audience, and at others she drowned the jam-packed room out with her, notably with her shrieking during Strangeness and Charm and THAT long drawn out note in...er, the same song. Which, incidentally, I wasn't too fond of until Friday night. It's now quite possibly one of my favourite son the album, along with Never Let Me Go (those vocals!) and Bedroom Hymns, which I'm holding out to see played live.
If I had to fault Flo's performance, I would have asked for more songs from Lungs, and by that I mean Drumming Song. Seeing as it's the Ceremonials tour I won't begrudge her that. While it was a simple enough show, Florence really doesn't need pyrotechnics and massive backdrops. The woman's voice is enough of a show to blow almost anyone else out of the water. That she, eh, gave us. Ahem.
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