Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Nov. 5, 2010. Roman Gokhman/STAFF.

This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune.

OAKLAND — When 24-year-old British singer Florence Welch and her band, the Machine, first performed in the Bay Area in April, the buzz band played to a full house at the smallish Mezzanine. Then in September Florence and the Machine stole the show at the MTV Video Music Awards and Americans took notice of the waifish singer with the strong pipes and fiery mane.

When the soul singer, with a style similar to that of Kate Nash, returned to the Bay Area Friday, it was to a packed house at Oakland’s much larger Fox Theater. Fans had been warned it might be better to avoid the area due to potential civil unrest in the aftermath of the Johannes Mehserle sentencing. But ticket holders didn’t care, and Welch made it clear she was grateful.

Taking the stage behind a microphone stand decorated with flowers and a tom drum, Welch and the Machine kicked off their performance with “Drumming Song,” a driving concussive tune off the band’s debut album, 2009’s “Lungs.” The song set the tone for a show full of percussion.

Welch beat on her drum with a lone drumstick to assist the Machine’s main percussionist. Her band was situated on the periphery of the stage, providing Welch plenty of room to float across the stage, striking ballet poses as she sang.

“Drumming Song” was followed by the ethereal “My Boy Builds Coffins” and an angry slow-tempo jazzy “Girl With One Eye.”

“Cosmic Love” is where Welch hit her groove. The dreamy tune, which you have probably heard in a commercial without realizing it, was the first of the night to really connect with the audience. Welch found a new use for her drumstick: Conductor’s baton, with which she led the crowd and her band.

Welch covered her face with a sheet of fabric and used some strategic lighting to appear as a ghost on “Blinding,” another song punctuated by a combative drumbeat.

On “I’m Not Calling You a Liar” and “Between Two Lungs,” Welch tested out the strength of her pipes. While her voice is not always pitch-perfect, it doesn’t waver. Her fans were loving it, and a giddy Welch didn’t try to hide her appreciation.

Welch followed with her first American single, “You’ve Got the Love,” which quickly turned into a group singalong, with Welch egging the audience on.

In “Strangeness and Charm,” one of two newer songs not on “Lungs,” Welch’s screams punctuated the chorus. After the main set closer, “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up),” A three-song encore began with another new song, “Heavy in Your Arms,” which appeared on the most recent “Twilight” movie soundtrack. It was perhaps too slow and repetitive, and not as catchy as Florence and the Machine’s other material.

A straight-up rock instrumental intro segued into “Kiss with a Fist,” the country-punk anthem ode to quarreling lovers. Welch brought the show to a close with “Dog Days Are Over,” the absolutely jubilant song now synonymous with the trailer for the Julia Roberts’ film “Eat, Pray, Love.”

It closed a convincing performance that hinted that Welch and her Machine could soon be playing arenas.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.