SINGAPORE — Florence and the Machine (FATM) and The XX, two of the most critically acclaimed British musical acts of 2009, performed at the Esplanade Theatre on Feb. 7 to a sold-out crowd of young Singaporean hipsters and expatriates from the region. And thanks to Audrey Carpio and Twitter, I was able to catch the concert.
I first heard of FATM and the XX through a friend Tina, whose taste in music is typically diverse and up-to-the-minute. She included both bands in a couple of playlists she posts on her blog (http://wysgal.blogspot.com) and I liked their songs instantly.
The XX is an English four-piece band made up of old school chums from the prestigious Elliot School: Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, Baria Qureshi and Jamie Smith. Their music is a mix of urban guitar riffs and ‘90s drum and bass with modern R&B twin vocal styling, reminiscent of Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. Their debut album “XX” has been on most 2009 best album lists including that of Rolling Stone, NPR’s All Songs Considered and Pitchfork.
On the other hand, FATM is the recording name of Florence Welch, a young South Londoner, and various musicians she collaborates with. She counts Hole, Nirvana, Celine Dion and Annie Lennox as early favorites and their influence can clearly be heard in her first album, Lungs.
Her music fuses metal, goth, grunge, folk and classical, while her mood ranges from floating happiness to dark rage usually evoked by angstsy-‘90s Tori Amos and Nick Cave. Her full-length debut album has topped the UK charts and has been fully supported by the BBC and NME, proving FATM’s popular and critical appeal.
With that much hype, I had high expectations for these performers.
The XX opened for FATM on an almost bare stage and two boxes with a huge X in front. The band is now a three-piece as keyboardist-guitarist Baria Qureshi left a few weeks before they started their Australasian tour.
The XX’s live performance was sonically moving but the visual part lacked energy and artistry. As they opened the concert with the very rhetorical Intro, the only effects they had was a light show which consisted of a revolving rainbow of colors that changed along with the beat of the music.
Audience rapport was also quite disappointing as both Romy and Oliver were both kind of stiff. Some high points included Oliver’s showing off his percussion skills while performing Night Time. Maybe a couple of years of performing live would give them much-needed confidence onstage.
In contrast, Florence and her merry band of musicians were mesmerizing amidst their floral tapestry backdrop. Florence’s performance and stage presence reminded me of a young Stevie Nicks during her Fleetwood Mac phase with the fiery personality of the ‘70s Kate Bush. Wearing a black dress and cape, Florence looked and sang like a goth high priestess summoning the musical gods as she opened her performance with My Boy Builds Coffins.
Florence obviously had confidence as she casually chatted up the audience and her band mates. There was even a point where she asked for the Polaroid camera of an audience member and took photos of herself and the crowd. Another highlight was her energetic performance of her hit Dog Days Are Over.
The typically subdued and polite Singapore crowd was completely entranced by the high priestess Florence as she commanded everybody to jump to their feet. It was truly a sight to behold.
FATM’s encore included You’ve Got The Love and I was half expecting the XX to go back on stage to perform a live version of their amazing remix but alas, no dice.
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