SO far, Florence and the Machine's 2015 has had a lot defined by broken limbs.
The band made its big return to the live stage at Coachella back in April, but the gig is mainly remembered for singer Florence Welch breaking her foot and having to do the following month of shows on a stool.
In some respects, a lot of people picked up on it as suiting the art. Welch had said that there was a lot of rough experiences in the gap between the end of the Ceremonials Tour and the writing of the new album, and the new LP was restrained in comparison with the first two. This lead to some saying the stripped down live shows with Welch sitting on a stool - despite being forced - suited the material.
Welch recovered in time for the summer festivals, but a different broken limb - that of Dave Grohl's leg - got the band bumped up into major UK music real estate. Florence and the Machine were initially scheduled to sub-headline Grohl's Foo Fighters on the opening night at Glastonbury, but were given the headline gig.
This has catapulted a band many held up before as good live into supernova territory, and at the same time the new album How Big How Blue How Beautiful became a chart-topper in both the UK and the USA.
Having achieved this feat, this consequent UK tour is something of a victory lap, culminating in a four night residency at Alexandra Palace. But there's no slowing down. The menacing opener What The Water Gave Me is began by an immensely assembled backing band, which includes the signature harp player, 2 keyboardists, 2 backing vocalists and a 3-piece choir/brass section. Before her cue begins, Welch jumps out from the row between the crowd and stage and races across the stage in front of a shimmery mirror-like background, before dropping in a vocal without missing a beat.
The backing band is certainly in powerful fashion, and provides an adept backing through all the respective guises. After the opener, the spry acoustic-led Ship to Wreck is confidently put forward, before a slightly re-worked version of Shake It Out emerges.
Before that one kicked off, Welch urged the crowd to "be our choir", and the sell-out London crowd rises to the challenge. They fill the room with their voices with gusto, much to Welch's delight, and it helps gives the gig a sense of being a mighty event from the very off.
Barefoot and seemingly chased by the mane of bright orange hair that adorns her head, Welch has a stage routine down and a confidently done sunter. During Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - itself a rabble-rousing anthem to follow the opening trio, and the first debut album cut - Welch urges crowd members to jump on someone else's shoulders.
Then comes the dive into the photographers pit, and a little bit of singing while basically on the crowd control barrier. It maybe conventional of a rock troupe to try and break down the barriers by jumping into the crowd, but its an impressive feat Welch manages not to miss a note while doing this, and while collecting a crown of roses from the crowd to wear for a bit.
In some respects, the new album was something of a way for Welch to show a versatile range, which is shown on the more restrained likes of the subtle-but-powerful title track and the sparse Long & Lost. But a very lovely moment vocally is a stripped back rendition of early track Cosmic Love, which allows Welch's voice to soar and shimmer alongside the restrained pairing of a 12-string acoustic and a harp.
For the most part the new album tracks are greeted and performed like classic anthems, and even get greeted by singalongs. A lot of them certainly shine, with a one-two of Third Eye and Delilah standing firm and strong in the arena environment.
Naturally, its the hits that get the big attention. The middle of the set sees the standard cover of You've Got The Love get a hearty singalong, but its the disco thump of number one hit Spectrum that gets the room bouncing and singing their hearts out like their lives depend on it.
This is a direct lead into Dog Days Are Over - still arguably the finest harp-rock track of recent years - which closes the main set with a mighty thump. Its also accompanied by Welch urging the crowd to hug one another, and then remove items of clothing. It maybe rehearsed, sure, but it gets the crowd involved, and it doesn't let up a manic groove.
In some respects, the slightly longer gap between the end of the main set and the encore is a necessary chill period both for crowd and performer. But the re-emergence for the final songs is a grand one, with the bleak synths of What Kind of Man building into its earworm riff and chorus of scorned cries, before ending with Welch collapsing onto the stage floor.
There is still time after that for one final run through of Drumming Song, which brings the night to a suitably large conclusion.
Its safe to say that the third album has catapulted Florence and the Machine into the stratosphere. Sure, their live sets may not contain a space for the earlier singles like No Light No Light or Kiss with a Fist, but this is a well-honed touring... er, machine operating at the top of its game, and has the live shows to match the big guns.
It'll be exciting to see where they go from here.
4/5
Acoustic sister choiral-folk sister trio The Staves is, at first glance, a somewhat unusual choice as opener. Their more relaxed folksy stylings have gained momentum in the pop charts of late, which was reflected by a healthy portion of the crowd coming in early to see them. Impressively and somewhat bravely, they open with the three sharing a central mic and singing an acapella ballad. Its an interestingly different direction to what the main event musically provide, but they provide a pleasing set nevertheless.
