Florence + the Machine @ Manchester Arena 15/3/12

This week has been quite something. I've seen my favourite band, my favourite solo artist and now to climax the week, my favourite mix of the two - the mighty, the ethereal, the force of nature that are Florence + the Machine prepare to take on Manchester Arena. The last time I saw Florence play live was 2009 in a considerably smaller venue and it was undoubtedly one of the best gigs I had ever been to, but when it was announced that Flo would be taking on the largest arenas around the country, I was suprised to say the least. I worried that the space would take away the sheer force and power you get from seeing Florence in a small venue, and secondly I questioned whether she was actually now big enough to fill them.

A big place needs a big line up and tonight we're treated to three acts on the bill. The night begins with first support act Spector erupting onto stage with recent single 'What You Wanted'. Showing that they're exactly what you want from a support, 'Chevy Thunder' really gets the crowd moving. Front man Fred Macpherson cuts an outline of Buddy Holly with a personality that splits opinion, but as he comically mocks a girl on the front row for texting (or as Fred puts it - 'updating her bebo') during their set, it's hard not to like him. Exiting with 'Never Fade Away' to huge applause, it isn't a huge stretch to imagine Spector filling out venues this big in a few years time.

Next up we have The Horrors. I've heard so many great things about this band and Skying is unarguably a great album but I couldn't help feel extremely disappointed. A 45 minute set with no interaction with the crowd or song introductions it was no surprise that people began to get restless, and after 20 minutes large groups around us began to sporadically sit down. I tried my hardest to feel the atmosphere, I wanted the songs to sweep over me and fill the arena with their dreamlike sound but sadly, it just didn't happen. Frontman Faris was barely audible, possibly a sound problem, but after final song 'Still Life' (which was the highlight of the set) I can't say I was left wanting more. Plenty of people's cup of tea, but unfortunately not mine.

Now, looking behind and around me I notice that the arena is in fact, full. Florence may have had a meteoric rise to fame through Ceremonials but a part of me still can't believe that the barefoot, crazy bat lady I fell in love with all those years ago is now about to perform a headline set to a crowd of 21,000. As the lights dim and the curtain falls, the sound of church bells echo around the arena to break into opening song 'Only If For A Night'. Florence appears behind a back light framed by art deco paneling. A shadowy silhouette, she utters the first line of the song before stepping out into the open to screams, applause and thousands of camera flashes. Adorned in a long black cloak and her fiery hair parted down the centre she looks every inch the renaissance goddess - almost as though she's just fallen out of a Dante Gabriel Rosetti painting.

The theatrics have been taken to another level, as you would expect from an arena show. The stunning lights and decoration have come a long way from the days of a few scattered flowers and birdcages. And it's not just the stage that's improved, breaking into 'What The Water Gave Me' Florence's vocals soar to new hights and with staggering power, leading into the euphoric crescendo which has the crowd losing themselves in the music. Already an incredibly captivating performer, Florence's stage presence has increased tenfold. Demanding 'human sacrifices' (people on shoulders) to be raised up during 'Rabbit Heart' and for the crowd to jump on command during 'Dog Days Are Over'. Everyone obeys without question. The room is in service of their flame haired goddess.

Mid show the band exits to leave Florence and guitarist Rob Ackroyd centre stage to perform a trio of acoustic songs. This offers the only intimate part of the show, Florence explaining pre-'Heartlines' about how she wrote it when she was missing her family and feeling lonely on tour. This made the room listen even more intently and it felt somewhat sad to wonder of the sacrifices an artist must make to live the lifestyle they do. However, it's not long before that long note on a church organ plays and we're led into the intro of 'Shake It Out'. As is so often with Florence's music, the drums are everything, and Christopher Lloyd-Hayden attacks them with visceral energy. Dedicating the song to 'anyone who's had a heavy weekend' Florence skips barefoot around her art deco stage with constant joy visible on her face, never dropping her beaming smile. This is a woman who lives for what she does.

Flo returns for her encore with a rendition of 'You've Got the Love' - a teasing slow version that builds up and erupts into a chorus of the crowd trying to hit that high note at the end. The night ends on 'Never Let Me Go', a stunning ballad that has the entire arena swaying their hands from side to side, and even after Florence has taken her final bow and left the stage, the chant of 'never let me go, never let me go' still continues from the crowd. A moving farewell.

And so, I was proven wrong. Florence had more than enough power and presence to fill an entire arena, and no doubt in the future even stadiums. A small niggle inside me can't help but miss the reckless, half-cut 'Lungs Florence', but the elegant, poised Ceremonials Flo is without a doubt one of the best performers on the planet right now. But really, the thing that made Florence what she is, and what will continue to make her so unique is ever present - her hurricane voice and the euphoric release that it brings. Things can only go up from here, and it couldn't happen to someone more deserving.