Often when musicians reach the point of selling out arenas they don’t look back to the theatres and pubs that got them there so fans of Florence + The Machine were nothing short of surprised when they announced intimate gigs in Scunthorpe, London and Halifax, writes Liam Arrowsmith.

In the first of a series of UK shows that will culminate in a supporting slot for The Rolling Stones, Florence Welch and her band swap Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage for Halifax’s Victoria Theatre.

The tiny venue refreshes an intimacy to a stadium level set list. The fiery-haired singer is in total command of the stage as her seven-piece band fill the slot as the eponymous ‘Machine’. While they commit themselves to their instruments, Welch performs with the soul of a rock star and the grace of a ballerina, singing ‘Delilah’ to two girls hanging down from the balcony. The connection between fan and performer is often lost when acts spend the majority of their careers in big settings, but for Florence, bringing that back to her set was an effortless feat.

Florence + The Machine at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax. Photo by Liam Arrowsmith

Halifax’s faithful fans were rewarded with opener ‘Between Two Lungs’, a song not played regularly since 2012. However, the majority of the set list is spent looking forward rather than back with four songs from her new album, ‘High as Hope’, with new singles ‘Hunger’ and ‘Sky Full of Song’ are sung back to the stage as if they had been around for decades.

Her timidness when she speaks provides an insight into the persona behind the powerful vocalist. When introducing ‘Patricia’, the first of two songs making their debut, the singer admits that it was written about her “favourite artist” who is in the room tonight. The song climaxes into a chorus of “do you feel loved?” as she reaches out to her audience, perhaps looking for confirmation, perhaps for reassurance. Whatever it is, she certainly finds it by the end, taking a beat to note how hot the room is getting.

Florence also debuts ‘100 Days’, a slow-building ballad about life in London. Welch laughs as she introduces the song, joking that “you can tell I wrote this, as it only has three notes.” It’s this simplicity that makes Florence + the Machine so attractive.

Lyrically, songs such as ‘Queen of Peace’ and ‘Mother’ are nonsensical but the band know how to put together and perform an anthem, evidenced by emphatic response to the opening notes of ‘Dog Days are Over’ and closer ‘Shake it Out’.

The gig was a statement of love and as she promised to see the audience soon it can only be hoped that Florence + the Machine treat all her fans to the intimacy she shared with Halifax.