Florence and The Machine

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Florence and The Machine

Theatrical art school graduate Florence Welch is renowned for her luscious powerful vocals and kooky videos.

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Price: £15.00

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CityLife review

IN a musical climate of too many kooks, Florence Welch’s ascent has been the swiftest. In one year, she’s racked up a Brit Award, Mercury nomination (pipped by Speech Debelle) and a debut album only kept from number one by the death of Michael Jackson.more

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Lawrence_ Poole wrote on the 26/09/09 at 10:31…

THE penultimate time Florence Welch and her band played Manchester it was in a support slot for Pete Doherty where she found herself booed and taunted by Doherty’s Manc fanbase.

Manchester, shame on you. Though at that point she hadn’t been declared as one to watch by the BBC, received …

THE penultimate time Florence Welch and her band played Manchester it was in a support slot for Pete Doherty where she found herself booed and taunted by Doherty’s Manc fanbase. Manchester, shame on you. Though at that point she hadn’t been declared as one to watch by the BBC, received a Brit award or been nominated for the Mercury Music prize, you would have thought people would have nevertheless recognised her considerable talent. That incredible voice that seems to pull air from every alveoli of her lungs, the inventive construction of raw drum beats, plucked harp and soaring melody plus the magnificent show(wo)manship. Though she recounts the Doherty experience with self-deprecation, grateful that she is returning to the city to such a resounding welcome, her chatter in between songs is in stark contrast to the assured figure she cuts in her performance. Despite being just 22, she commands the space swirling like Kate Bush in 1978 against her boho living room set with bird cage lamps and thistle pattern curtain. Draped in black and gold loose cloth and with lava-hued hair flailing - she’s out to create a unique set. Opening with her debut single the punk defiance of Kiss With a Fist, she sets out to make her way through the tracks from her debut album Lungs throwing in a couple of extra tunes along the way. Unsurprisingly there are plenty of rousing numbers here, it’s a euphoric version of The Drumming Song that greets anticipating ears and during a rampant Dog Days Are Over the crowd are only to willing to join in some communal jumping. My Boy Makes Coffins turns into a mesmerising showcase of that astounding voice then there are beautifully pared down versions of I’m Not Calling You a Liar - stripped to harp and vocals - followed by a similarly simplistic Hurricane Drunk. A beguiling night is rounded off with her anthemic cover of Candi Staton’s You’ve Got The Love and ending on a triumphant Rabbit Heart. Florence And The Machine play the Apollo on Thursday, December 10. £15. Call 08444 777 677.