Florence and the Machine

Reason #101110000 why New York is great: If you like a band, chances are they will be playing a show in the city within a few months of your interest.

And sure enough, Florence and the Machine (Like Jem and the Holograms and Barbie and the Rockers, right?) played at Terminal 5 on Friday to crowd of giddy Brooklynites who knew all the words. I started listening to her about a month ago when Al and Laura talked me into buying a $25 ticket to see this unknown band with arguments such as 'you'll like her, she has red hair!' and 'had she been around ten years ago, she would have played at Lilith!' Okay!

Well, sure enough, I quickly empathized with that red hair and those strong female vocals and one month later was standing at Terminal 5 with my girls (and their boys) waiting for MY NEW FAVORITE BAND to walk onstage at Terminal 5.

My pals and I weren't all that enthusiastic for the venue, as some of us have seen bands flop at there. The acoustics are bad, the location is TERRIBLE, and you can only buy one drink at a time, so drinking becomes a relay race through swarms of pushy outoftowners. But Florence, dressed in seaweed and feathers (fancy!), not only charmed us into forgetting about all of our First World Problems but also got us to dance-- To jump in unison and to dance like teenagers.

She's mix of Tori Amos and Fiona Apple, but dresses like Lady Gaga, and curiously sites her influences as Fairuza Balk (from The Craft!) and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Girl, you had me at mermaid.

Next up? Stars and New Pornographers-- get ready, summer.