Florence + The Machine at the Royal Festival Hall

Florence + The Machine
Shock Machine
Royal Festival Hall, 8 May 2018

Ten years ago I went to see MGMT - at the time flavour of the day - at the much-missed Astoria for a sold out gig. MGMT, who live were like a younger, brattier Flaming Lips, really divided opinions (I overheard one guy calling it the worse show he'd ever been to!) but the uniting factor for pretty much everyone there, regardless of what they thought of the headliners, was the support act, a tall, skinny redhead in a white ra-ra skirt and a big grin on her face: Florence Welch.

The Machine at that time were just a drummer and a guitar player and Florence had yet to release her debut single, Kiss With A Fist, at that point, although she did play it and the B-side, her cover of Cold War Kids' Hospital Beds, that night as well as its follow-up Dog Days Are Over. I remember Florence was girly, full of joy and had a Goldfrapp-glam to her rather than the ethereal goddess she has since become and an amazing voice that seemed destined for bigger things (amusingly at the time someone reviewed the gig and said she was more effective in smaller venues, even though the Astoria was pretty small anyway, I wonder if they ate their words as she wowed headlining Glastonbury). After, someone handed me a Kiss With A Fist badge, that I wish so much that I still had.

As soon as her first single came out I bought it and I've been a fan ever since but haven't seen in her live in the intervening years, put off by the size of the venues she can now play. So when this so-called "intimate" gig at the Royal Festival Hall popped up I was determined to attend and was lucky enough to score a ticket (it sold out in less than a minute despite re-sale measures).

When I arrived the stage was adorned with real, growing flowers and trees and looked like something out of a fairytale. It couldn't look more perfect for a Florence + The Machine show in fact. One of the songs playing just before she came on was Angel Olsen's atmospheric, slow-burning Sister. I have no idea if Florence chooses the music played before her shows, although I like to think she does, but it felt like a nice link to last week's Angel Olsen concert and it put me in a lovely, dreamy mood.

When Florence finally stepped onto the stage, barefoot, in a long flowy satin gown and chiffon cape, she looked like a Pre-Raphaelite dream with her pale skin and wavy red locks. She was utterly breathtaking and looked every bit of the pop goddess she's become, so far from the giggly ra-ra skirt-wearing girl of 10 years ago. Behind her she has an eight-piece band that includes a harpist, two drummers, a keyboardist, a violinist, a bassist and a guitarist. A bit of an upgrade from the two-piece she had all those years ago at the Astoria but fitting for the arena act she's become.

She begins with Between Two Lungs from her first LP, a song she also performed with I first saw her, but of course, this time with that backing band, it of course sounds absolutely epic. Florence herself though is the biggest revelation. Gone is the shy girl and instead she dances and leaps around the stage, twirling, throwing her hair about and striking poses. She reminds me of the leaping dancers in the glittering fairytale forest part of Fleetwood Mac's Gypsy video. Occasionally she stays by the microphone stand to sing, but mostly she takes the mike with her as she prances from one end of the stage to the other. And the most amazing thing about this, despite the constant movement and dancing, it never once affects her vocals: they are strong and glorious throughout, as she belts her way through each song.

During the second song, the rousing Queen Of Peace, she urges the seated Festival Hall to stand, asking "who wants to stand up?" and managing to get the stalls and even some of the balcony up on their feet and dancing (me, savoring my front row balcony seat, was lazily happy to tap my feet while remaining seated but it was fun to see everyone else getting into the spirit of things).

The rousing spirit continued with the driving drums of Only If For A Night, and as she swirled around the stage in her silks, chiffons and satins singing about ghosts and dancing in graveyards. I mean, Stevie Nicks would be proud, I saw so much of her in Florence's energetic performance.

The first song from her forthcoming new album, High As Hope, came next, with the devastating first line "At 17 I started to starve myself, I thought that love was a kind of emptiness". It's an astoundingly good song and sure to be one of the best of the year. Despite the sad lyrics, she beams throughout the performance, at one point grabbing a note handed to her by a fan and taking a moment to grab hold of their hand. It was rather lovely how much she interacted with the audience in fact, constantly making eye contact, taking people's hands, going up to them and singing certain lines to their faces as if she was singing just to them.

The new single, the more plaintive and haunting, Sky Full Of Song, is also impressive and shows off Florence's voice to full effect. Another new track is called Patricia and features some lovely harp and a chorus that dreamily calls"Oh Patricia you've always been my North star". During the introduction she tells us that it's written for a certain person who she hasn't told yet. From the title I wonder if it's Patti Smith and reading after, that appears to be the general consensus. If it is for her I can imagine her being bowled over that such a beautiful song has been written in tribute to her.

The last new song of the night is called 100 Years. She laughs as she tells us that her sister, who is here tonight, complained that she has three amazing piano players in her band but that all her songs are comprised of just three piano notes. And when the song starts it is indeed just three notes, but of course the song builds to something far from epic. Florence's music is always big and dramatic and this does not disappoint on that count, with her jumping up and down and stomping her feet and clapping at the end. From these four songs it's clear the new album is going to be something special.

There's another nice surprise when she brings out Lungs-era B-side Falling, a song she tells us was written hungover in Crystal Palace which explains lyrics like "I've fallen out of windows, taxi cabs too."

Dog Days Are Over of course gets an amazing response but halfway through Florence tells people to put their phones in their pockets and actually points to a couple of people still holding them up and makes them put their phones away.  "This moment is going to disappear, and we’re going to allow it to disappear,” she tells us smiling, "unless you come to another show, and then obviously, we’ll do it again!" She then gets everyone to jump up and down, which looks amazing looking down but I feel relieved that most people on the balcony wisely decide not to partake (although I feel a few who do) fearing we might all end up on top of them if we join in on the fun.

The last few songs are all from How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, the album I feel Florence really started to find her true voice. Ship To Wreck sounds tremendous and during Delilah she runs down the steps from the stage and skips through the aisles, stopping to sing at people who obviously are loving it. At one point, one chap falls to his knees and she places her hand on his head as she sings, like she is anointing a new disciple.  

What Kind Of Man ends the night, sounding like a true rock star and again launching herself off the stage to run wild through the audience and somehow never missing a note. It's an amazing talent I must say.

She returns of course for an encore (the roars and applause meant it would have been impossible to ignore) and gives us Shake It Out, with her keyboardist playing the huge Royal Festival Hall organ giving the song an even more epic sound. Someone in the audience hands Florence a posy of flowers, making her look like a 1930s bride with the organ playing her wedding march, echoing through the hall behind her (after waving the flowers around for half the song she finally gives them a good throw to the back of the stage, as if her bridesmaids were there waiting to catch it).

The song ends with the crowd singing along and people joyfully jumping up and down as Florence dances from end to end of the stage. 

After I read reviews that stated that Florence was an overly dramatic performer but I was amazing at her energy and just how much she gave to her performance, it really was a wonder to see. I can now understand why Florence + The Machine are considered one of the best live acts in the world today and I'm so happy I finally got to see them again in a much smaller venue than they usually play because the big sound and her powerful voice absolutely filled the hall right up to the rafters and back again. It was wonderful.

Just a small note on Shock Machine, who name-wise at least made a nice support act: two machines for the price of one! I've actually seen Shock Machine once before with Warpaint a couple of years ago. This time James Righton (formerly of Klaxons and Mr. Keira Knightley - I have to mention that every time, I can't help it) is dressed in a cream 70s suit, the kind you can imagine George Harrison wearing during his long-haired beardy phase (or Wes Anderson even) and is only accompanied by a keyboardist, occasionally taking up an acoustic guitar himself.

Last time I enjoyed his full band set but tonight I find myself getting a little bored and annoyed with his voice. I think Mr Righton needs a band to bring out his talents, but he certainly wasn't the worst support act I've ever had to sit through. I'm sure Keira is still very proud of her man.