Florence and the Machine - Hammersmith Apollo - Friday 14th May 2010 (LIVE)
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Written by Rob Sleigh
It’s been a pretty good twelve months for Florence Welch - aka solo artist Florence and the Machine. Her music has received a warm reception from the Great British public and she has managed to become a household name, thanks to the handful of hit singles taken from her debut album ‘Lungs’.
The album was released last July and went straight to Number Two in the UK Album Chart, following rave reviews for her live performances. The album’s success peaked at the beginning of 2010 when, after six months in the chart, it finally made it to Number One before being awarded Best British Album at the Brits. Now, following months of touring, Florence is giving ‘Lungs’ another quick airing around the UK before work continues on her next album.
Tonight’s show is the second of three consecutive dates at the Apollo as part of the ‘Cosmic Love tour’. Florence has lined up a couple of support acts for the evening, starting with Babe Shadow from London. Their music manages to get things off to a pleasant enough start with some very danceable folk-pop tunes, but it is clear that the audience are more eager to see the next band.
New York’s The Drums have received a fair amount of praise since the beginning of the year and this has obviously had a big effect on their status. From the moment they walk out on stage, it is clear to see how popular they have become in a relatively short amount of time. This is mainly due to the mannerisms of their charismatic frontman Jonathan Pierce. During the entire half-hour performance, he exudes personality and confidence through his presence, dancing extravagantly around the stage and flattering the crowd for their hospitality. This behaviour receives a loud response from the crowd, particularly the female members among them. The Drums play a sound that is largely inspired by 70s/80s post-punk music, but with much more life and optimism to it. One of the guitarists in the group, refusing to be outdone by the singer, changes instruments on recent single ‘Best Friend’ for some of the most expressive tambourine-playing ever seen at the Apollo. No doubt their debut album will prove to be a popular choice when it is released next month.
As the scheduled time of 9:15 approaches, deafening chants of “Florence! Florence!” are already beginning to fill the venue. The curtain is lifted to reveal an impressive collection of musicians, filling the stage. This is the first sign that the singer, who has become widely known for her flamboyant live shows, is not planning to fail her audiences just yet. There is a full band, a large string section and a gospel choir. Let’s not forget the harp player, of course. As the music starts, a huge mirror ball at the back of the stage opens up and the star of the show appears from inside. Dressed all in black, she walks slowly towards the microphone as the crowd erupts with applause.
For the first few songs, Florence remains fairly reserved, standing still with arms outstretched as she displays the full glory of her vocal capacity, which sounds as tremendous as ever. In between tracks, she keeps chat to a minimum, speaking only to thank the audience for showing their appreciation. When she reaches previous single ‘Drumming Song’ in the setlist, her shoes are removed and she begins to dance elegantly around the stage, spinning and jumping in the manner for which she is famed.
Most of the songs on offer tonight are taken from ‘Lungs’ with the exception of only a few other tracks. These include ‘Swimming’ which, despite being excluded from the album and released only as a bonus track, proves to be a surprisingly popular addition. The only new song is called ‘Strangeness and Charm’, which provides a taste of the as-yet-untitled second album.
Florence saves most of the onstage banter for the latter part of the performance. At this point, she begins joking around with the crowd and introducing her band. Towards the end of the evening, one of the biggest cheers of the night is received for her cover for The Source’s ‘You’ve Got the Love’. This is followed by album-opener ‘Dog Days Are Over’, during which Florence encourages the men in the crowd to put their girlfriends on their shoulders, before persuading everyone to join her in a mass pogo for the song’s climax. The band then leave the stage to return for an encore of garage-rock track ‘Kiss With a Fist’ and hit single ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’.
The continued success of her live dates and the refusal of the album to leave the Top Ten suggest that one of the stars of 2009 is likely to extend her reign during 2010. As numerous festival appearances by Florence and the Machine approach, it is doubtful that people will start forgetting about her anytime soon and hopefully she will still be as popular when the next album appears in 2011.
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