HOLLYWOOD – Florence + The Machine brought their long running Celestials tour to the famed Hollywood Bowl Sunday night for the first of two sold out shows and the acclaimed singer songwriter didn’t disappoint.
The almost 2-hour show mostly featured tracks from Florence Welch’s first two albums, “Lungs” and “Ceremonials.” Welch and her mates entranced the almost 18,000 fans with favorites such as “Cosmic Love,” “No Light, No Light,” “Shake It Out,” “What the Water Gave Me,” a seemingly remixed “Spectrum” and, of course, “Dog Days Are Over.” What was more intriguing was the fact she performed “Breath of Life,” her hauntingly beautiful composition from this summer’s blockbuster “Snow White and the Huntsman.” The track dropped in the spring, but Welch didn’t perform it live in concert (reportedly) until Lollapalooza on Aug 5. It’s clear by the response from the audience at the Bowl Sunday night it should be included in her set list for years to come.
Universal Pictures, “Snow White” fans and Florence fans (the later two seem to be interchangeable at this point) are all hoping the Academy’s music branch is smart enough to nominate “Breath of Life” for best original song. Yes, “Life” appears over the end credits of the film, but the branch hasn’t been as tough as those submissions over the past few years as many would make you believe. However, perhaps it was karmic justice that Welch was performing “Life” less than a mile from the Dolby theater where the Academy Awards are held every February. We can only hope she gets to preform for Oscar again (she previously sang with nominee A.R. Rahman in 2011). At the worst, she can count on a slew of Grammy nominations next month. In fact, she might land one in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category for “Life.”
If Oscar ignores “Life,” don’t cry for Welch. Something tells us the powerful songbird is going to return to the big screen many times down the road.
Florence + The Machine wrap up the North American leg of their Celestials tour in Austin, TX at Austin City Limits on Oct. 12.