REVIEW: Florence and the Machine @ The TLA, April 5

The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.

0 comments

REVIEW: Florence and the Machine @ The TLA, April 5

POSTED: Friday, April 9, 2010, 12:45 AM

Filed Under: Music | Concert Review | Show concert photos

Photos | John Vettese

There's a drumming noise inside my head.

In another life, Florence Welch would have made a fine interpretive dance maven. Her lively Philadelphia debut appearance with Florence and the Machine this week was all about motion, gesture and scintillating energy. Beneath deep bright lights, Welch opened the show by striking a series of pantomime in poses "Howl," then bashing her floral-wreathed floor tom to the beat. On the punky Britrock-er "Kiss With a Fist," she became an unhinged, flailing force of nature - which might explain why the equally crowd-pleasing "Hurricane Drunk" immediately followed it in the set.

Photo | John Vettese

In a hypnotic take on "Drumming Song" - the under-appreciated centerpiece of last year's excellent Lungs - Welch leapt off her feet into a series mid-air twirls, bounding between her five-piece band (which included a full-size harp) in such an acrobatic flurry you'd think there was an Olympic judging panel sitting at stage right. But that's not to say things were on the up and up throughout. She spent much of the the brooding "Blinding" with her discarded black cardigan draped cross her face and shoulders like a death shroud while she lumbered forward, arms outstretched. Creepy. And the more she calisthenically exerted herself, the more shot her voice grew - by encore time, her once-commanding alto was barely croaking out the words. But the energy was still there. Breaking the powerhouse, Kate Bush-esque single "Dog Days are Over" with some bubbly flattery about what a great first impression the Philly crowd made - part of the act, for sure, but seemed sincere all the same - she asked everybody to jump in the air along with her, and keep going until the song ended. The audience gladly obliged, and the set was brought down in a sea of leaping bodies, flailing arms, shaky notes and total fucking joy.

Photo | John Vettese

Photo | John Vettese

Posted by john vettese @ 12:45 AM Permalink | Post a comment

0 comments

Comments (0)

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
What we're trying to do this weekend
ICE CUBE: In Memoriam: Joe Tartaglia
Coming soon to Philly: Two cockamamie movie promotion schemes
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
PHILLY LOVE NOTES: An ode to Spruce Street
CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOS: James Blake @ TLA 5/11
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.

About this blog

Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

Follow Critical Mass editors Patrick Rapa and Emily Guendelsberger on Twitter:

@mission2denmark | @emilygee

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January

Past Archives: