By Colum Ward
I didn’t think she’d be so sunny... after all, this is the woman who wrote: “A Kiss with a Fist is Better Than None.” And yet there she was – like a giddy schoolgirl – bouncing around on stage at Terminal 5 – in awe of her surroundings: “This place is huge!”
Florence made her entrance with long loping strides in 10 inch heels and what can only be described as a swamp thing costume: a cape that was part fake Halloween cobweb part Hawaiian Lei explosion. She twirled the thing around her head and draped it over various instruments (which HAD to have been annoying for their owners) and boy was she happy - not that I’m complaining… it makes a refreshing change.
She sure loves her drums. At one point four of the 6 member troupe were drumming – including Flo - who beat her own personal floor tom (which was decorated with fake flowers????) mercilessly – I’m not sure what it added to the show musically but I guess it gave her something to do during the instrumental bits. Then there was the HARP – which I was a bit dubious of when I saw it there on stage before the show. It screamed GIMMICK - but quickly proved to be the perfect compliment to her haunting wail. A few songs in, she ditched the heels and the show kicked into high gear. Her voice soared above the music – a neat trick of expert sound mixing - after all that’s why we came – to hear that enchanting voice – and Florence did not disappoint.
Colum Ward is a contributing writer to With This I Think I'm Officially a Yuppie. This concert took place on April 9.