Florence and The Machine at ACE Centre, Nelson, UK - June 11, 2009

Florence and The Machine at ACE Centre, Nelson, England
Gig review, setlist and photos by Music Vice contributor Francesca Howell - June 14, 2009

For a small group of in-the-know hipsters, the ACE Centre in Nelson, Lancashire, was where they were going to be spending their evening on Thursday 11th June. The brand new venue was to play host to Florence and The Machine, supported by Wolf Gang. It’s not everyday that a Brit Award winning band visits a small town like Nelson, and being a long-time fan of Florence and her gang, naturally, I had to be there.

On my ticket, it said doors open at 7pm, show starts at 7.30pm. Liars. The show actually started at 7pm, kicking off with London-based support act Wolf Gang. I arrived 15 minutes late after tracking down my friend and begging to borrow her compact camera so I could take some shots. With camera in hand, I caught the tail end of the band’s set, but didn’t manage to get any shots due to ‘technical difficulties’ (i.e. me not knowing how the hell to work the tiny silver camera in my hands). From what I heard, they had a handful of catchy, dream-like songs dotted with staccato guitars and funky bass lines. New single Pieces Of You was a personal favourite.

A short break followed whilst the stage was set up with the main acts’ instruments, which gave me a chance to take in the scene. Gold glittering bird cages hung from the ceiling above us, flowers adorned the stage, mic stand and drum kit and an array of multi-coloured flowers spelt out ‘Florence’ on the back wall. The giant harp on the left of the stage had a tiny bird perched on its corner. After seeing all this, I already knew that the evening was going to be just a little bit magical. Looking around, the room had started to fill up. Word had spread about the show, aided by advertising in the local paper. I had anticipated a young crowd of dedicated, adoring fans, but actually there was a mix of old(er) and young gig-goers. It was a large turnout, most of whom had clearly come out because - shock horror! - a decent band had come to town.

"Florence-the-songstress pranced and paraded around the stage in her black, floaty chiffon dress, commanding the attention of every person in the room, while Florence-your-best-friend chatted with band mates and the audience as if she knew us all personally."

Opening with Between Two Lungs, Florence Welch’s vocals echoed eerily around the room, which fitted very will with her penned lyrics. Her expressive movements throughout the whole evening conveyed just how much passion she has for what she does; it is clear that on stage, she is in her element. There seemed to be a clear split between when she was immersed in song and when she was cheekily taking a swig from a water bottle marked 'V – that’s for vodka!' and interacting with the crowd. Florence-the-songstress pranced and paraded around the stage in her black, floaty chiffon dress, commanding the attention of every person in the room, while Florence-your-best-friend chatted with band mates and the audience as if she knew us all personally.

Singles Dog Days, Rabbit Hear and Kiss With A Fist produced the biggest sing-and-dance-a-longs, with Florence exclaiming “come on, sing a long! Be a violent choir!” before ripping up the place with the latter song. Florence explained the meaning behind B Side Are You Hurting The One You Love? - she had seen the title on a poster outside a church and found it “really, really scary!” – before delivering yet more stunning vocals. I was disappointed that My Best Dress was missing from the setlist, but a personal highlight for me was Howl. It was like plugging in my iPod and have my own personal Florence sing to me right before my eyes. The onstage banter was continuous, with Florence saying she’d pull her "Aretha moves and you can pull some werewolf moves. Just bite each other!" during the song.

The band returned for the encore and left us with their cover of You Got The Love by Candi Statton. Florence’s vocals throughout the night had been exceptional, but on this last song they were astounding. The sound I heard on the night was much more developed and controlled to that on the demos I had back at home. Florence is definitely ready for the big time and I can’t wait for the release of her debut album Lungs on 6th July.

Between Two Lungs
My Boy Builds Coffins
Girl With One Eye
Dog Days
Ghosts
Are You Hurting The One You Love?
Hurricane
Howl
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
Cosmic Love
Kiss With A Fist
…
Blinding
You Got The Love