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Oct 10, 2012 By Laura Studarus Photography by Helen Boast Florence and the Machine

It all comes down to otherworldly adjectives. Witchy. Ethereal. Pixie-like. Call it what you want, but if the high number of weeping, dancing, and otherwise hysterical females in attendance at Monday night’s Florence and the Machine show at The Hollywood Bowl was any indication, one thing’s for certain—frontwoman Florence Welch does have some kind of power.

Despite an obnoxiously over-produced sophomore album (an opinion that I’m aware I share with none), the band’s live show was appropriate for the iconic venue—a stage that many seasoned performers have failed to command. Welch, clad in a floaty black dress with a scandalously low neckline, feet bare, commanded the stage—flanked by a drummer, harpist, keyboardist Isabella Summers, and a small choir. Making what was perhaps one of the most theatrical appearances the Bowl had to offer, she stepped onto the stage through a white screen—posing like an old-school pinup. The flourishes didn’t stop there, as there was nary a second that the songbird didn’t utilize the entire stage, dancing, twirling, and sprinting across a circular catwalk that extended into the crowd.

Welch’s wild banshee-by-way-of-Stevie-Nicks strength was punctuated by moments of surprising girl next door accessibility, such as when she blundered the opening of “All This and Heaven Too” and shyly suggested that her band start over, or when she declared that everyone should go out and “get wasted with our blessing” before the opening notes of “Shake it Out.” Before performing “Rabbit Heart” she encouraged the crowd to embrace, and then “subvert the venue” by standing up. Her request—naturally—was fulfilled. Holding Los Angelenos in the palm of her hand? Okay, maybe she’s not just any girl next door.

Setlist:

1. Only If for a Night

2. What the Water Gave Me

3. Drumming Song

4. Cosmic Love

5. All This and Heaven Too

6. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

7. Spectrum

8. Heartlines (acoustic)

9. Leave My Body (acoustic)

10. Seven Devils

11. Shake It Out

12. No Light, No Light

Encore

13. Lover to Lover

14. Dog Days Are Over

Check out a full gallery of photos here.

(www.florenceandthemachine.net)