Live Review: Florence and The Machine at The 3Arena Dublin

How energetic, how soulful, how devastatingly beautiful. Florence and The Machine’s High As Hope Tour landed in Dublin Monday night to inspiring results.

Since the release of debut album Lungs a decade ago, it’s been quite the rollercoaster ride for Florence Welch, who has long been the poster girl of cranked-up indie-pop-rock. In recent interviews, she has candidly discussed kicking the bottle in an effort to even out. Referencing complicated political times at the 3Arena, it’s evident Welch has a more coherent mindset than ever before:

“It’s been a rough couple of years hasn’t it? I would just like to say please keep doing good in all the ways that you can. Keep showing up because I really believe in love and I believe in compassion.”

“It’s so easy to think that you are just one person and what different does it make to the wider world. But a revolution in consciousness starts with individuals and that’s all of you,” proclaimed Welch.

Newest LP, High As Hope, is a more polished and refined record compared to previous efforts. And the live show (which often felt like an authentic hippie hang) reflects this.

In Monday's most free-spirited moment, Welch ordered the crowd, consisting predominantly of women and gays: “To hold hands. Are we all connected? Is everybody together? Tonight, no matter where you are from this is all of our home town.”

The South Londoner is part of a small group of contemporary artists whose voice can be spotted in an instant. At the 3Arena, she complimented a stunning vocal performance with sharp and honest lyricism.

On lead single, ‘Hunger,’ she reveals her struggle with a teenage eating disorder: “At seventeen, I started to starve myself. I thought that love was a kind of emptiness.” Divulging this information not only helps her, it lends a hand to everyone else affected.

Marked with distinctive mystic harmonies, ‘South London Forever’ remembers her more promiscuous youthful days. Going back to that debauched time isn’t an option, yet Florence can’t help but question if she has made the right decision: “Did I dream too big? Do I have to let it go? What if one day there’s no such thing as snow?”

‘Patricia,’ is Welch's ode to the great Patti smith. The middle section of the song is about male chauvinism, before she launches in, she notes: “If you’re with us at a Florence and The Machine show, you probably believe in women.”

For ‘Delilah’, Florence abandoned the confines of the minimalistic stage and meandered around the venue. She finished with the haunting ‘Big God’ - a standout track from the new album and anthemic ‘Shake it Out.’ For her adoring fans, it really doesn’t get much better than this. Exiting The Point, I suspect many of them were left thinking; what else could be better than this?

Setlist:

June

Hunger

Between Two Lungs

Only If For A Night

Queen of Peace

South London Forever

Patricia

Dog Days Are Over

100 Years

Ship to Wreck

The End of Love

Cosmic Love

Delilah

What Kind of Man

Encore:

Big God

Shake It Out