Haim, Florence + Machine, Liverpool Echo Arena 10th December 2012 7/10

It was as energising as ever, but this wasn't my favourite of the four Florence + Machine performances I've attended this year. Despite having a seat close to the stage, some of those around me didn't seem to be there for the music, and at times it was difficult to relax and lose myself. The person in front who spent much of the gig shouting down his mobile phone may have had a better experience had he listened and soaked in the atmosphere. Liverpool Echo Arena itself is on a dramatic setting by the river, but the bass was so exaggerated  it drowned out the midrange. It suffered from a comparison with the night before, when I'd been in a small venue at the front of the stage, surrounded by music lovers. The rewards of my continual new music discovery, is to enjoy artists before they get to this stage in their career.

My most memorable Florence experience was outside in the desert at Coachella in April, but the Manchester Arena performance I saw in March also seemed fresher. It was Florence's second to last date on her Ceremonials Tour,  the main novelty being a John Lennon cover performed specially for Liverpool. That's not to say that The Guardian's dismissal last week of Florence as an 'artless formula' is fair. The music can at times be bombastic, and I wished for some more light and shade during a loud 90 minutes, but the music was written for cathedral like spaces. Florence's dancing and movement through the  beautiful art deco set was boundless, and the lighting imaginative. The effect is uplifting, even if I missed some of the darker songs from her first album Lungs such as My Boy Builds Coffins. I assume it was health and safety concerns which meant that only arms rather than bodies where raised up during Rabbit Heart; beside of the crowd surfing at Reading Festival, the audience response was a little muted.

My excuse for seeing Florence again was my eagerness to see the support band, Haim, whose rise has been meteoric this year. The three sisters Este, Daniella and Alana from the San Fernando valley have been described as a fusion of nu folk and R&B, yet it was rock at the fore in Liverpool. Joined by a drummer, Daniella’s singing was charged with energy, and their stage presence and guitar playing were magnetic. I suspect they're so talented they can bring off any style of music they chose with conviction. They seemed genuinely honoured and surprised to be playing an arena at this stage in their career, and on this evidence the buzz in the blogosphere is justified. So far they’ve released only a 3 track EP, but the new songs they played from their full length planned for the spring made almost as strong an impression as Forever and Better Off. The announcement a few hours earlier of their nomination in The BBC Sound of 2013 makes me optimistic that they'll be back in the UK soon to play festivals and headline gigs.