The 23-year old British beauty Florence Welch and her ‘Machine’ seemed to be the most hyped up name on this year’s ‘new and improved’ Laneway Festival tour. Coming to Australia for the very first time to headline the festival this year, Florence and The Machine’s Melbourne sideshow sold out in milliseconds, causing promoters to up the capacity and move it to a bigger venue. The atmosphere at The Palace Theatre on the night of the show was filled with excitement and eagerness, as fans piled up around the front of the stage waiting to get their first glimpse at the flame haired goddess.
With the harp sitting onstage neatly covered and tucked away, Melbourne based garage folk band Big Scary came on stage to open up the night. The duo is made up of ‘Tom and Jo’ dueling between hard hitting drum beats, folk punk rock vocals, guitar, and an arrangement of stringed instruments. Blending a unique form of indie rock, folk, pop, and grunge, reminiscent of An Horse meets I Heart Hiroshima, the duo moved through their upbeat songs with a sense of excitement as the crowd started to get into the groove. What was most impressive was Jo’s banging drum solos and vocal work as Tom turned the volume up on his guitar and the duo rocked out to finish off their set with a bang.
The stage went dark and was quickly rearranged into a flower filled palace only fit for a queen. The crowd started chanting Florence’s name and the band finally walked to take their places. With the faint sounds of a harp in the distance, Florence came flowing out in ultra high heals and a long black dress that flowed around her like a cape. The crowd went wild! I think I even saw a fear tears as fans fell under the spell of the singer’s presence. Belting right into My Boy Builds Coffins off last year’s mega hit album Lungs, Florence’s lyrics reflect the words of a poetic storyteller as she mesmerized listeners with her innocent dark side, singing “My boy builds coffins/He makes them all day/He’s made one for himself/One for me too.”
Moving from one Lungs track to the next, Florence and The Machine kept the fans going wild with their catchy upbeat dance tracks and occasional soft ballad thrown in the mix. The range of Florence’s vocal work was nothing but impressive; though every other reviewer has compared her skills to fellow red-haired Brit singer Kate Bush, Florence’s songwriting is beyond comparison. And the harp. Oh, the harp. It just adds that bit of tenderness, putting listeners in that hazy, happy state.
Song after song, Florence and The Machine blew away the crowd with their flawless performances of songs such as Hurricane Drunk, Between Two Lungs, and A Kiss With A Fist. Florence moved around the stage with ease and grace, occasionally running and jumping as the crowd gets going. Mentioning how wonderful it was to be playing packed out theatres in Australia, Florence asked the crowd if anyone was familiar with the Cold War Kids (of course!) and the band went into a cover of Hospital Beds as everyone in the room sang along.
Florence just kept the party going as she sang a Happy Birthday wish to Joe from The Black Lips, who she met on the Laneway tour and then dedicated Dog Days Are Over to her new friends and Joe yelled out a thank you to Florence from the crowd as the entire room jumped up and down in unison.
Her quirkiness and genuine nature is that of a true performer. Asking for a shot of whiskey mid-set was probably exactly what she needed and then she plucked out flowers from her decorated microphone stand and passed them around to the screaming girls in the front row. It was a non-stop party at The Palace as Florence and The Machine took the stage one last time to encore with You’ve Got The Love and Rabbit Heart, ending the night with a serious bang singing “This is a gift/It comes with a price.”
Florence and The Machine took the audience through a beautiful lyrical journey that exuded with gratefulness, grace, and confidence throughout the entire evening. I can easily say this was one of the most engaging and musically impressive shows that I have seen in a long time. The fact that at 23-years old, Florence is still at the start of her career, and it’s fairly safe to say that she’ll be around for many years to come. We can only hope that she will be gracing the stage in Melbourne again very, very, soon. I can hardly wait to get another glimpse.
to listen to their music now on 
