Florence and the Machine gives explosive performance at Fox Theatre

Florence Welch is not one for subtlety or small statements. The lead singer of Florence and the Machine has a voice like a bazooka, and her songs are crafted for maximum emotional bombast. It's a battlefield out there, and Welch is a warrior queen out for blood.At Florence and the Machine's concert at the Fox Theatre Tuesday, Welch and her seven-piece band were running at full speed, hammering home huge anthems of heartbreak and perseverance for the sold-out crowd. The 13-song, 90-minute show was beautifully, impeccably lit, and it had a simple elegance befitting the grandeur of the Fox Theatre.
It was the group's biggest Detroit concert to-date, and came on the touring cycle behind the group's sophomore album, 2011's "Ceremonials." Welch, in a white gown, was a confident, engaging band leader, and her voice was astounding -- as massive as it was clear. Welch was forced to cancel some concerts earlier in the month due to vocal issues, but she was in spectacular form Tuesday, belting out in a way that might have Adele shaking in her boots.But what separates Florence and the Machine from Adele are the songs, and the connection those songs make. Adele goes big, but it's in her smaller, more personal moments that she shines brightest, making the payoffs of those big moments even greater. With Florence it's all so towering that it becomes overbearing, and the songs begin blending together. But the band knew to quit while it was ahead, and 90 minutes proved to be right on the money. A full two hours would have been overkill.
Welch mentioned she visited Detroit's Heidelberg Project during the day Tuesday, and praised it for bringing "such beauty to places where people think it might not be." Florence and the Machine brought a beauty of their own to Detroit Tuesday, and those in attendance have the battle scars to prove it.Miller said she's pleased a technology is available now to, if needed, detect the harmful disease early.
"I'm happy that (cancer is) more likely to be caught," she said.Basham said women should get a baseline screening mammogram at 35-40 years old, and then an annual screening starting at age 40.With the new machine, she said mammograms should be easier and more accessible, which hopefully will lead to more women getting screened. In 2011 more than 5,200 mammograms were performed at United Regional.