Florence and the Machine Play First New York Headlining Show

Posted on Oct 28th 2009 12:30PM by Liz Colville
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Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine

Making their US debut, Florence and the Machine were in high spirits at their sold-out New York show last night and weren't afraid to show it. The singer and her band only have one more scheduled date in the States this year and the audience seemed to grasp the urgency of the night.

The audience was dotted with celebrities including 'Gossip Girl' stars Penn Badgley and Blake Lively, who swayed with the crowd to opener Holly Miranda and her backing band -- none other than Nada Surf -- before ascending to the VIP balcony. But the crowd also included a delighted, vocal gathering of fans who could hold many a tune and keep up with their lyrics.

Florence Welch is only 23 years old but the statuesque singer, surrounded by hydrangeas and clad in a translucent white dress fit for a bohemian wedding, commanded the stage like a veteran, with expressive dance moves, charming chatter and a strong command of her challenging vocal parts. She's already played for television this week, including MTV's 'It's On With Alexa Chung' and 'Letterman,' so there might have been nothing more comforting for the young British singer than a packed house of smiling New Yorkers.

Beginning with some of the heaviest tracks from her debut, 'Lungs,' including the title track and 'Kiss With a Fist,' Welch then gave herself a break, moving on to some more "acoustic" tracks, as she put it, including 'Ghosts' and 'Hurricane Drunk.' There was no letting down the crowd -- every song announcement led to deafening whoops, including the most obscure choice of the night, the B-side 'Are You Hurting The One You Love?' and a brief rendition of Fever Ray's 'If I Had A Heart.'

Welch was back to epic vocal sustains before long, performing a sparkly-lit rendition of her personal favorite, 'Cosmic Love.' She saved two of the most dramatic tracks, first single 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' and latest single and cover 'You've Got the Love' for the encore, which came after the audience stomped on the floor while chanting "Florence, Florence!"

"You might need to help me out with the lyrics later," Welch joked mid-set, but her voice was more than enough on its own.