On a day distinctly American, a Brit celebrated U.S. patriotism in high style. Florence Welch filled The Lawn at White River with sparklers, fireworks, and powerful vocals during the July 4th outdoor show.
Welch, of the eponymous Florence and the Machine, floated through the evening in an ethereal yellow gown, dividing her time between spinning, galloping, and leaping across the stage. On this night, the admittedly spare White River stage was turned into a ballet studio with Welch as the prima ballerina. An opaque cherry blossom Oriental print backdrop completed the soft setting.
As expected, Welch opened her set with "My Boy Builds Coffins" (She has opened almost every set on this tour with the track.) Interestingly, Florence and the Machine have been supporting U2 on their U2 360 tour, and have only a few stops this summer as the top billed band. I remark that it is interesting only because Florence commanded the stage so thoroughly that I cannot imagine her opening for anyone, least of all the self-involved and self-important Bono. On the topic of openers, two-man band Hanni El Khatib created vaguely unremarkable garage-rock before Florence's set. The crowd chattered throughout, anxiously awaiting their British princess.
From the moment she entered the stage, all eyes were on her. She commanded attention and was most certainly the showpiece of the ensemble. Although she graciously did take time to introduce her band mates during her last few songs, it was Welch's night from the moment she set her sprightly foot onstage. Although Florence performed only 11 songs in her regular set, it felt as if she spent a good amount of time performing. She riffed and trilled and transformed her songs (the majority of which came from the album Lungs) into many minute-long masterpieces.
Although Welch was the obvious star, her backing band produced more than competent instrumental creations during the set. Florence and the Machine's music is very rhythmic, and drummer Chris Hayden weaved an intricate tapestry of vaguely tribal beats throughout the show. Harp, a unique aspect of Florence's tracks, was provided by player Tom Monger. His fingers delicately plucked and stroked the strings, providing a fine-spun complement to Welch's gauzy voice.
A few new songs were added by the group, including "What the Water Gave Me" and "Bedroom Hymns." Both contained Welch's typical eerie subject matter; a large portion of her songs concern spirits, ghosts, mythology, stars, demons, and the like, her own particular brand of death art-pop. "What the Water Gave Me" brings to mind both the Frieda Kahlo painting of the same name and the death of fellow Brit and author Virginia Woolf. Welch belts, "Lay me down/Let the only sound/Be the overflow/Pockets full of stones." Also celebrating the cleansing power of water is the third track performed, "Drumming Song," where she sings, "I run to the river and dive straight in/I pray that the water will drown out the din/But as the water fills my mouth/ It couldn't wash the echoes out."
The interim between songs was punctuated by Welch's soft humor. She remarked that the evening was her first Fourth of July in America, and mentioned how excited she was to celebrate it. She also commented that although she had an admittedly posh English accent, her mother was American. I could tell she felt proud celebrating that part of her heritage with the crowd for the first time. Welch was obviously excited about the holiday, because she reemerged for the encore with a sparkler and sang a very delicate verse of "Amazing Grace." Her controlled vocals fit the hymn perfectly, and the crowd went wild. They would go even wilder, however, for her closing version of "Dog Days Are Over," during which she orchestrated a small fireworks show while leading the audience in a group dance. One must only have been present for a few moments during Welch's encore to understand her pure magnetism; the combination of her delicately beautiful voice, childlike movements, and mesmerizing melodies hypnotized the crowd. The stage was hers for the evening, and she used it well.
After the 90-minute set ended (precisely at 9:45 PM), the crowd on The Lawn simply swiveled their chairs 180 degrees to face the 10 PM Indianapolis fireworks show. The sun had set, and the evening temperature hovered around a near-perfect 70 degrees. Partaking in an Indianapolis tradition, 20,000 citizens had gathered to watch the fireworks coordinated to music provided by local radio station Hank 97.1 FM. Needless to say, I joined them. As I breathed in the slightly burnt-smelling air and gazed through the smoky lawn to watch the fantastic light display, I was thankful for being able to experience two great shows in one night. Happy Independence Day!
Set List:
My Boy Builds Coffins
Between Two Lungs
Drumming Song
Strangeness and Charm
Howl
I'm Not Calling You a Liar
Hurricane Drunk
What the Water Gave Me
Cosmic Love
You've Got the Love
Rabbit Heart
Encore
Amazing Grace
Bedroom Hymns
Dog Days are Over
-Kat Coplen
