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Concert Review: Florence and The Machine

Florence The Machine
Oct. 7-8
Hollywood Bowl
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By Daily Bruin Staff

Oct. 10, 2012 12:30 a.m.

The original photo caption for this article contained an error and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.

Always graceful and demure with her Victorian-inspired wardrobe, Florence Welch immediately gives the impression of reservation. But Sunday night told another story as Welch brought a taste of her rebellious British flair and filled the Hollywood Bowl with haunting renditions from her sophomore album “Ceremonials.”

Welch appeared onstage dressed in a romantic black gown with sheer, chiffon sleeves, appropriately enough for “Ceremonials,” which is influenced by gospel inspirations and gothic motifs, alluding to spirits, surreal encounters and death.

Welch opened with “Only If for a Night,” where she took center stage with her tall silhouette in front of the microphone before releasing her energy with “What the Water Gave Me.” As Welch crooned the eerie lyrics of underwater graves and bargains with the devil, her body skipped back and forth across stage, red hair flying and dress following in black billows behind her.

As the night went on, the London native incorporated familiar songs from her debut album “Lungs” with tracks like “Drumming Song” and “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up),” but the crowd favorites remained “Ceremonials” picks like “All This And Heaven Too,” “Shake It Out” and “No Light, No Light.”

The highlight of the evening was the moment when Welch showcased her raw vocals with “Leave My Body,” sans any theatrical dancing and having bare minimal accompaniment. As her voice echoed through the Hollywood Hills, the night chill grabbed audiences a little tighter as the singer mused about leaving her body to move to a higher ground.

Ethereal lights danced across the stadium seats of the Hollywood Bowl seeming to match Welch’s lithe playfulness on stage as she twirled around and skipped to and fro, falling into the endless rhythm of the night.

Welch filled the venue with her energy and haunting vocals that never seemed to lose their power even when she seemed breathless from her frantic dancing.

The singer also kept the spirits of the audience high by interrupting her set list to ask fans to “snog” each other and later to sing “Happy Birthday” to the guitarist Rob Ackroyd.

Fans in their seats roared continuously for an encore when Welch sashayed off the stage before their cries coaxed the singer to return for two more songs, ending with the radio classic “Dog Days Are Over.”

As the night neared its end, hot white lights flashed, illuminating a platform constructed of geometric frames where Welch stood as she prepared to close her performance, her silhouette backlit by the stage lights.

Her one last request for the audience to participate in a ritual she had adopted during her tour: Everyone was to rise from their seats and jump repeatedly as she yelled “Hollywooood” for one last time.

Welch twirled her arms about in elegant flourishes as the accompaniment persisted before culminating in the chorus. And like clockwork, the entire stadium audience of 18,000 rose from their seats and lifted themselves in the air as the stadium darkened in rhythm with the final beat.

““ Lynn Chu

Email Chu at [email protected].

Correction: The photo is courtesy of Timothy Norris.

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