A PERFORMANCE that was theatrical, elegant, and almost spiritual- Florence + The Machine truly ruled the stage at the Bournemouth International Centre.
Monday night saw the long-awaited Dance Fever tour arrive in Bournemouth, having been rescheduled from November after lead vocalist Florence Welch broke her foot.
As doors opened at 6.30pm, fans of the indie rock band flooded the venue, with standing ticket holders bundling up to the stage barriers wearing the iconic Florence flower crowns.
When the main lights dropped, and a bright white light began to beam from the stage, crowds knew the wait was over.
And there she was. Florence. Swanning on to the stage wearing a long, delicate dress, with sequins that caught the stage lights with every turn, and her red hair flowing down its back.
Without a word to the crowd to spark mystery, the band positioned themselves in front of a ghostly candelabra sculpture on the stage, before going straight into songs ‘Heaven is Here’ and ‘King’.
The third song, ‘Ship to Wreck’, was the first upbeat song of the set, and what seemed to kickstart a night of pace and energy in both Florence and the crowd.
Fist pumping the air, jumping on the spot, ballet style leaps and spins, and running across the stage - you wouldn’t know Florence had not long recovered from an injury.
The band’s performance of ‘Dog Days Are Over’, which came five songs in, was a memorable part of the show. After the first chorus, Florence paused to begin what was her first crowd interaction of the show.
After thanking her fans for coming, she requested they all put their phones away- a ritual she visits at every show, and a power any other artist would struggle to have. It was a way to live in the moment, with Florence, with the band.
With not a phone in sight, Florence burst back into ‘Dog Days Are Over’, seeing the crowd erupt and reach new levels of elation.
During other songs, Florence would come off the stage and visit people in the crowd.
For ‘Dream Evil Girl’, she took the hands of a lucky fan and focused entirely on them as she sang the lyrics, before letting go and venturing deep into the standing pit with the help of security.
The best thing about the show was it was consistent. Every track was sung with as equal energy and passion as the last. Every lyric was acted out in some way. Every vocal was perfect. Every movement by Florence was light, and graceful.
You could possibly liken the performance to a religious experience.
At one point, Florence joked: “You may be thinking is this a cult? Am I safe? It’s so much better if you just give into it, do everything I say, and you’ll be absolutely fine.”
For Florence + The Machine fans, Monday night's show was definitely worth the wait.
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