Live Review: Florence & The Machine, Marlon Williams

While news of Billie Eilish not making it to Brisbane to support Florence & The Machine (or any of Australia for that matter) was sad for fans, the breathtaking voice of Marlon Williams more than makes up for it. Floral dresses and wine soon become the dress code and must-have accessory for the near sold-out Riverstage. Having released one of the better albums of 2018 with Make Way For Love, the soft croon of Williams takes us back to a time before mobile phones and kombucha. Williams is electrifying, almost giving off Elvis appeal with his voice and driven yet dreamy guitar, not to mention that slicked-back hair. Channelling the bravado of Alex Turner with the dreamboat appeal of Jeremy Neale, Williams is onto something. While our time with Williams and his band is quite short, we feel we’ve really created a bond with the young man, and screams from new adoring fans say farewell as the mosh pit fills and Florence Welch waits in the wings.

A Florence & The Machine gig falls somewhere between a pop extravaganza, a church service, and a fairytale play. As Welch strolls on stage in her blue dress, her style oozes like our hearts when the first notes of June ring out – the brooding opener to the band’s latest album High As Hope and a sign of things to come (seven tracks from the new album sneak into the setlist). Followed by the groovy juxtaposition of Hunger, Queen Welch makes her first decree: she's pleased to be with such an open and accepting crowd: “Lets get weird together, I love this.”

Welch’s lengthy monologue of love and life through her teens to late 20s culminating in “believe in hope because the new age of consciousness is here”, goes over the head of a fair few punters. But as Welch breaks into highlight of 2015's How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, Queen Of Peace, the crowd roars and they kick off the first of many wide-open-mouthed singalongs with new registers hit by many concert-goers. The hippy overtones and floaty personalities come into their own as the full moon reveals itself over the horizon and Welch asks everyone in the crowd to put their phones away and their hands up. As the last refrain of Dog Days Are Over builds, the biggest crowd movement we’ve ever seen erupts all the way up the hill. The crowd has been relatively subdued apart from the aforementioned dance explosion, but it’s impossible not to get moving when they play Ship To Wreck and its beautiful, high-pitched chorus sends us into cardiac arrest.   

We hit every pop concert beat with a classic “phone lights in the air” moment for Sky Full Of Love. Darting around like a woman possessed, Welch makes her way zig-zagging through the crowd to the sounddesk as a sea of hands reach out to touch Saint Florence. Standing triumphantly at the top of the hill above her disciples, the final explosion of Delilah sees phones aplenty much to the displeasure of Welch: “I don’t like talking to many people or having my photo taken, I’m a shy person.” As set closer What Kind Of Man hits those huge arena-rock chords, Welch gets her real rockstar moment pounding her fist on the barrier among fans. Cameramen capture the many fans enlightened by a hug as Welch makes her way back and forth across the front barrier. 

Welch comes back for a quick three-song encore, with Shake It Out ending the night – a slow and dramatic build which becomes a wall of sound as tears roll down many faces. The moon is now well and truly above us as Welch unites the crowd as her personal choir for each chorus. A final bow sees our emotional confession with Welch come to a close, but you can guarantee this night will stay with many for more reasons than the T-shirt.

Florence & The Machine once again prove they are an experience like no other, with Welch continuing to shine as a unique voice and personality in the growingly convoluted pop landscape. She combines her hippy-tinged barefoot ballet moves with pop sensibilities to put on the perfect blend of weird and enlightening – exactly what we needed to start our year.