Florence and the Machine Rock the USA

Florence and the Machine just might have as much "flo" as Flo Rida himself. Making their first appearance in Washington D.C., British indie/experimental band Florence and the Machine (F+M) stopped by the 9:30 Club to play a show with co-headliners The Temper Trap and opening band Kissaway Trail. Vocalist Florence Welch has started a whirlwind with her eclectic fashion sense, avante-garde musical taste, and her dancing and theatrical performance. Her backing band, known as The Machine, currently features Robert Ackroyd on guitar, Chris Hayden on drums, Isabella Summers (a.k.a. "Machine") on keyboard and Tom Monger on harp. The group recently released their debut album "Lungs" on Island Records UK. They will also be playing Coachella this summer before traveling back to Europe for a summer European tour.

F+M made a smashing first impression on our nation's capital, performing a full length set and a double encore. The band in fact does tour with their entire "Harp setup" including a full size harp, MPC, foot pedals, and an Abelton Live setup. Additionally, Welch contributes her own percussive sound using a floral decorated tom. Coming out draped in a black shawl with a glass of wine in her hand, Welsh turned her live performance into a dramatic theatrical production with jumping, dancing, and running around the stage. The sold out crowd went wild for her energetic performance and Welsh almost broke into tears as the crowd continued to cheer for the bands outstanding performance. If you haven't picked up their album, you can download it via Itunes or stream it off their website florenceandthemachine.net/

For more photos of the show, please checkout my Flickr page at www.flickr.com/alenamoran.

All photos courtesy of The Pulse Photography