Wednesday the venue Tavastia was once again filled with passionately conscious music folk. Florence Welch already accustomed back home in England, received some weeks back the award for best british album at the Brit Awards, now wooed the finnish crowd as well. In addition to the brit awards, they were nominated for the Mercury Prize last year too.Florence + The Machine have received a reasonable amount of exposure in Finland as well, even as they have yet to break with the big crowd. This will undoubtedly be accomplished as they the big summer festival Ruisrock, but the situation is in no way dire, as there is a large enough crowd to fill Tavastia already.
Right off the bat, I can state that I wasn’t the most excited among the crowd. In front of me stood a redhead girl, who was bouncing, jumping, woggling, singing, screaming, punching the sky, raising the roof in such a manner that I felt like the designated driver on Saturday. Even as the album by Florence pleased me last year, I still preferred the remixes somewhat more. I’d like to add that I did manage to get my groove on as well, even as I might not have been the most excited of the bunch, as Welch commanded the audience and transformed the whole venue into a jumping frenzy towards the end of their show.
Redheads with energy were definitely the topic that day, as on stage the beautiful Florence Welch proved her worth. The massive voice will capture you instantly, but given the sheer power and awe struck by that insane voice, maybe you could have accompanied it by a larger backing band. Some play on set ups, like Florence and The Marching Band could boost the vocal and instrumental experience all together. And Welch and her amazing voice would definitely not be lost in the company of even larger backing instruments.
As a whole, the set list was pleasant and even the more usual songs at the start managed to keep up the interest, even as the crowd did explode only during the last three songs. You’ve Got the Love, Dog Days Are Over and Rabbit Heart(Raise it Up) concluded the show in a spectacular manner, that one couldn’t possibly be left with anything but a great experience.
A personal favorite emerged at the end of the show, when Drumming Song, with its growing interpretation live was by far the biggest blow away of the entire evening. It knocked the socks off all the previously mentioned remixes, as well as the album version. A sight for sore eyes was made up when Welch banged those drums with all her might. If the stage presence is anywhere this level at the summers Ruisrock festival, the playtime will prove irrelevant and the group will surely win the affection of a nation, right there and then.
