There’s a reason rain didn’t pour Friday at Voodoo Music and Arts Experience as it’s forecasted to do on Saturday and Sunday – Florence Welch willed it not to happen.
New Orleans got to see the force of nature Welch is during Florence and the Machine’s impeccable track meet of a set on Voodoo’s opening night.
At 9:30 p.m., Florence and her Machine arrived to raucous applause from the thousands who crowded around the Altar Stage.
The stage’s backdrop was a curtain of silver disco ball squares and spotlights that illuminated Welch and her band, as well as the audience, with alternating hues of blue, purple, pink and gold.
Sporting a pink pantsuit and “Day of the Dead” face makeup, Welch stormed the stage with her band, of which the members also wore similar makeup.
Word from most festival-goers all day was that they were “waiting for Florence” or “only here for Florence,” and she delivered, making their tickets worth every penny.
For about an hour and a half, Florence and the Machine gave Voodoo music lovers what they came to see.
The set included a good mix of tracks from each of Florence and the Machine’s three full-length albums, “Lungs,” “Ceremonials” and “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.”
Opening with “What the Water Gave Me,” the first song released off sophomore album “Ceremonials,” it was clear Welch had not only taken control of the crowd, but the entire festival.
As soon as she opened her mouth to hit the song’s first note, the crowd whipped into a frenzy, already dazzled.
Electric, energetic and ethereal are the only words to describe what happened next. There was hardly a moment the songstress was standing still and not igniting the crowd with her wild, pulsating interpretative dancing.
Quickly after “What the Water Gave Me,” Welch and the band transitioned into “Ship to Wreck,” a track from the most recent album “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.”
Then, Welch addressed the Voodoo crowd before the next song on the setlist. After telling the audience that the choir she and the band would have liked to have had with them were ghosts that stayed home to haunt, Welch asked if the thousands watching could serve as the choir for the evening and sing the next song together.
The crowd roared and Welch began the opening lines of “Shake it Out” from the album “Ceremonials.” Everyone in attendance who knew the words sang along.
Later, Welch told the audience to lift one another onto shoulders and raise their hands as she ripped off her vest and ran down a crowd aisle before she performed the track “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.”
After the song ended Welch continued her performance, this time removing her vest and her shirt to reveal a sheer white bra as she gleefully ran down into the aisle again.
Welch got back onstage and back to her vest and shirt to close the show with “Drumming Song” off of debut album “Lungs.”
Florence and the Machine blew through Voodoo, and though it ended abruptly – with a simple “Thank you, goodnight” from Welch as she ran off the stage – it was by far the best and most memorable performance of the festival, leaving the crowd stunned and satisfied.
Florence Welch of Florence and the Machines takes the stage at the end of day 1 of Voodoo Fest on Friday Oct. 30, 2015, at City Park in New Orleans.
