| FLORENCE + THE MACHINE drum up cosmic love from Auckland - yet again! [ with guests THE DRUMS & THE NAKED AND FAMOUS ] |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Friday, 30 July 2010 09:08 |
 Seeing any band twice in one year in New Zealand is a treat in itself, but when vocal queen FLORENCE + THE MACHINE announced her return to our shores only six months after her impressive Laneway Festival performance, expectation and excitement was at an all-time high. Would she be able to top her near perfect Laneways performance? The answer is yes. Local darlings THE NAKED AND FAMOUS opened to an excited crowd - and while the sound mix wasn’t perfect - the young band did well and showed a vast improvement from performances as recent as a few months ago. TNAF show a lot of promise, and when they closed their set with ‘Young Blood’ it was refreshing to see a Kiwi band inspire such an enthusiastic response from those in the audience. New York City four-piece THE DRUMS haven’t yet hit the big time here in New Zealand, however they knew how to compensate for any lack of exposure - dancing. Absolutely phenomenal dancing, especially from guitarist Jacob Graham. I’m talking waltzing with his guitar, doing some form of interpretive dance mixed with ballet with a tambourine and furiously pointing at the crowd in some sort of manic frenzy... it was a sight to be seen. My favourite quote of the evening came from a spectator behind me: "Who knew a tambourine could command such respect." I certainly will never look at a tambourine in the same way. Basically, I could have been deaf and still have been thoroughly entertained by what The Drums had to offer. However, thankfully, I am not deaf and so could also enjoy their 'Smiths influenced self-described post-punk. Opening with ‘It Will All End In Tears’ before launching into 'Best Friend' and ‘Me And The Moon’ then ‘Let's Go Surfing’, the energy and passion poured into their theatrical performance exemplified everything a live performance should be. Unfortunately their set was apparently cut short due to timing issues, and so the band ended with ‘Forever And Ever Amen'. Coming into the concert, I really did not expect anything from The Drums, but am now infinitely impressed with their ability to create a sense of excitement and energy from an audience who mostly were not there for them. Full kudos to them, and I shall expect big things from them in the future.  Since Florence + The Machine departed New Zealand after her show-stopping performance at Laneway Festival in February, she has been one busy lady. As well as writing new material for her highly anticipated follow-up to ‘Lungs’, she’s been trailing the festival circuit playing Coachella, T in the Park and Glastonbury, as well as a headlining tour all around Europe. This non-stop lifestyle of touring has certainly done Florence well, as her live performance tonight will almost definitely go down as the best performance of 2010 on NZ soil. As the black curtain dropped to reveal a floral backdrop, a florally decorated drum kit, birdcages and an array of musicians, the chants for Florence quickly turned into cheers as the singer emerged from the shadows, looking like some form of musical super-hero. Dressed in a black outfit equipped with a flowing cape, the fans hidden on the side of the stage allowed her cape to float behind her as she pranced and twirled her way around the stage during the set opener ‘Drumming Song’.  ‘My Boy Builds Coffins’ was followed by 'Between Two Lungs', which when the music was softened really allowed her voice to shine through. It’s safe to say, that no-one in the Trusts Stadium was able to escape the commanding nature of her voice, which is near unrivalled in strength in comparison to other current female musicians. ‘Girl With One Eye’ saw Florence adopt a smoky swagger-type attitude which went down well, before ‘Cosmic Love’ revealed a starry night sky backdrop equipped with fairy lights, which made for a truly magical performance. ‘Blinding’ was my personal favourite track of the night, with the layers of instruments in a live setting adding an entirely new dimension to the track which is missing from her recordings.  ‘I’m Not Calling You A Liar’ took the energy on stage down a notch, with an almost tranquil Florence letting her voice take full reign... which despite the increasing volume of crowd sing-alongs, was never going to be overpowered. Unlike her Laneways performance which was full of banter, Florence kept on-stage chatter to a minimum, aside from thanking the crowd, name-dropping a few local stores (Real Groovy, Stolen Girlfriends Club), and making her desires to return to our shores once more known. ‘Hurricane Drunk’ and ‘Howl’ were performed before Florence allowed us a small glimpse into what her second album will be like, performing a new song ‘Strangeness And Charm’ which still retains her trademark dark themes however musically it seemed to rely more heavily on guitar than her ‘Lungs’ releases.  Ending the main portion of her set with ‘You Got The Love’ and ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’, the chants for an encore were instant. The demographically diverse crowd could not get enough of Florence and her charismatic energy, and a few minutes later Florence and her Machine returned on stage for a three song encore, kicking off with ‘Heavy In Your Arms’ which features on the Twilight Saga's 'Eclipse' soundtrack. Surprisingly, not many people seemed to recognize the track, remaining quite serene... that is, until the final two songs, ‘Kiss With A Fist’ and ‘Dog Days Are Over’. The Trusts Stadium was only at what felt like 75% capacity but with the level of enthusiasm, flailing arms and sing-a-longs from the crowd, it felt like a packed house. Florence Welch, I salute you. How you manage to jump around on stage while belting out pitch perfect notes with the power of a thousand hurricanes - I will never understand, but will forever admire.  |
