On the morning of Monday, November 1, 2010, I got an email from one of my friends asking me where we should meet and what time we should get there. “What is she talking about?” I thought, as I continued about my hectic morning. It took me about five minutes to remember that way back in the summer I had booked tickets to see Florence + the Machine the Monday following Halloween. This email became, often how I view Florence + the Machine’s sound in general, a breath of fresh air to the monotony of my life.

I love Florence + the Machine. I first got seriously into her when I was living in London because her music was everywhere. Her voice immediately captivated me, and then when I saw the harp I was even more intrigued. I couldn’t believe that she wasn’t wildly successful in the U.S. at that time because she offered something fresh, emotionally raw but melodically upbeat, and ethereal and nymph-like. I know 2009 was the year of Lady Gaga, but when you really listen to Florence Welch’s voice (and see that she is a shy ginger in real life), you see that she recalls a vocal talent we haven’t seen in the mainstream since Annie Lennox. Sure, there have been the Mariah Careys and the Beyonces of the world since then, but the power of Florence’s voice against a carefully arranged cacophony of epic sound is something that few “pop” singers have been able to consistently produce and market in the past twenty years. I know Florence + the Machine gets a lot of comparison to Stevie Nicks, and seeing her twirl about, yell, stomp, chant and generally exceed my expectations in a flowy garment amongst her band made me understand that. But her voice is better.

I had heard that she was amazing live from everyone I’ve ever known that has seen her, so I was even more excited than usual to attend this concert. The venue, Midtown Manhattan’s Terminal 5, is not my favorite because its acoustics are remarkably bad. However, Florence + the Machine quickly surpassed this fact and put on an amazing performance. Florence was brilliant at utilizing the crowd – Terminal 5 has a large lower pit and an upper loft deck, and each floor has a bar, which makes it very easy to lose control of a crowd during the lesser known or quieter songs. But she made sure that the front row and the guy standing at the back of the second floor could hear her and were equally captivated. The show itself was also very well orchestrated; the lights corresponded with the rollercoaster intensities of both her powerhouse songs like “Drumming Song” and “Cosmic Love” and slower jams like “I’m Not Calling You A Liar” so well that it was very clear that this act had been practiced to the point of perfection. I did think she held back at some points, but my friend aptly pointed out that she was probably saving her voice just a teensy little since she was performing in the same venue the very next night.

That being said, overall the show was so good I honestly felt like at times it was more a musical than a concert. Her music is undeniably passionate, and the effect it had on the crowd became a tangible feeling of everything her music encompasses: intensity, positivity and happiness. I know that may sound strange, but when bands are as in it as much as they were and you love music as much as you should, you don’t just watch a show. It’s an experience. That experience is what you take away after the encore, and Florence + the Machine are experts at invoking it in virtually anyone. I was expecting the crowd to be primarily young women like myself, which was not the case at all. Age, gender and sexuality all didn’t matter: we were there to watch Florence.

My personal favorites from the show were “You’ve Got the Love”, “Cosmic Love” and “Dog Days Are Over” because that’s when the crowd was most engaged. A man actually proposed to a woman (who accepted) during “Cosmic Love”, which normally would have bothered me, but it wasn’t a distraction because I was so happy to be there.

She played a new song called “Strangeness and Charm” to which everyone responded beautifully and demonstrated how her sound is growing. Florence + the Machine has developed so beautifully since “Kiss With A Fist” (although even my Dad lists that one as a favorite) that I’m totally confident I will love their next album. Especially if they keep delivering such kickass live shows.