Live Review: Florence And The Machine, Leon Bridges, Marlon Williams

Too often support acts can seem like an afterthought. The reviews say they play “a tight set” in front of an “appreciative crowd” but few people actually notice. Not so tonight, when the most solid triple bill in recent memory evokes a festival atmosphere from the start.

It’s a scorching day, so hot that the bats are dropping out of trees. The clouds hang low, making the air tight but promising sweet relief as crowds walk straight from work to catch opener Marlon Williams. In a T-shirt and short shorts, he’s certainly dressed for the occasion and looks completely at home on stage as he jokes gently with the crowd. He strolls around rather than prowls, moving easily between energetic full band numbers and the sparse, keening croon of Love Is A Terrible Thing. The set finishes on a high with a spare, loping cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' Portrait Of A Man that sprawls across the park, building and crashing in ecstatic waves and proves to be one of the highlights of the evening.

Leon Bridges is immediately more uptempo, bringing tropical grooves as the clouds threaten to burst. It’s the old school soul numbers like Better Man that really suit the environment, but unfortunately Bridges doesn’t talk much and the performance feels impersonal. It feels like he’d be more comfortable on a smaller stage. The atmosphere is steamy and a small drizzle gets us excited but, like his set, the release we’re looking for never comes.

Between the setting, the multiple touring acts and, yes, the long lines for food, it really does feel like we’re at a festival. And as the lights come up on stage one more time, the picnics are packed away further back in the crowd and everyone stands.

Florence & The Machine open with June and Florence Welch twirls energetically around the stage in a sheer dress as Hunger follows. Like the opener, it relies on tension and release, delicately plucked harp giving way to Welch's powerful voice belting out the chorus. The same trick is repeated time and again through the set, but it’s a good trick, and hers is a voice you can lose yourself in.

The crowd is spread out in age and for the benefit of her younger fans Welch jokes that the songs from Lungs sound very similar to her newer work, “just drunker and a lot shoutier”. She only plays a few songs from her debut, but given the response to Dog Days Are Over it’s clear that everyone is familiar with it. As the chorus approaches, Welch asks us to put our phones away and give ourselves up to the cathartic moment.

As the concert ends, we reflect that one of the pleasures of a great triple bill is trying to decide the highlight. Fortunately, there are plenty of options.