The return of Franz Ferdinand has been met with a variety of viewpoints but their return has been met with more of what they're known for.
The new album provides more stuff to couple to the stellar back catalogue, which still has its grand collection of disco-rock riffery and bold, heavy choruses.
While their absence has been ended by a number of people going "... they're still going?!?", its a welcome sight to see, particularly given it looked at one point like the end would have come.
That strong back catalogue of Franz's and the new stuff is all on show in the Electric nightclub. An electronic classical intro gives way to the stomping crunch of new album lead single Right Action, which for a single only a few months old is already sending crowds mad.
True insanity follows for the delightful No You Girls and Tell Her Tonight. These show Franz at their classic best - huge choruses, jagged riffs, clever verse lines and a riff to send crowds into a frenzy.
Its all well and good seeing the band at bigger shows but this one feels huge in its own right. Plus it has the intimacy that escapes bigger gigs, mainly in evidence when rhyhtm guitarist Nick McCarthy vaults over the short barrier and dives into the moshpit to crowdsurf while playing the storming riff to Do You Want To.
This cascades into the equally glorious Dark Of The Matinee, but there's more going on then a simple run through of all the oldies.
New tunes like Evil Eye and Fresh Strawberries hold their own in their esteemed company. The former grooves along on its bouncy bass-funk and police sirens, while the latter's Beatles-y riff shimmers gracefully in the venue and even inspires a few singalongs in the crowd.
The oldies are, as expected, the big singalongs. The homo-erotic rush of early hit Michael and the gorgeous balladry of Walk Away have graced bigger stages than this but their effect is in no way diluted by our smaller surroundings.
A healthy pattern of trading off newies with oldies also transpires, with the meandering Stand On The Horizon and the heady angst-riddled rush of Bullet alternating with The Fallen and This Fire. But naturally, the moment of absolute hysteria arrives soon enough when the march of Take Me Out rumbles out of the speakers.
What follows is 4 moments of glorious delirium, with a particular delight being as the song slows into its trademark riff and the whole room is bouncing and singing like their lives depend on it.
The band are clearly having fun, with singer Alex Kapranos bounding around the stage like a man half his age and McCarthy similarly agile around the stage, alternating between guitar and keyboard. They top the expert grooves that helps to contribute to the delightful music pumping into the room, to which the audience obliges with sweaty hysteria.
A one-two of new single Love Illumination and the disco-popper Ulysses brings the main set to a satisfying end. A further three tunes then appear for the encore.
Sadly Outsiders and the long-standing drum-jam that normally follows are not included but the encore is nevertheless a further strong trio, with Right Thoughts... highlight Treason! Animals. and the bouncing rush of first album opener Jacqueline particular highlights.
If new track Goodbye Lovers and Friends is a little anticlimactic to end - even with its suitably finishing lyric - its still another bouncer that brings a raucous gig to a satisfying conclusion.
Kudos, too, to the cheek of McCarthy to say "you can keep him" when Kapranos dives into the pit after the post-gig bow.
But all in all it was a delightful gig. The right atmosphere to see the band helped - up close and in the audience faces, sending many pop confections that truly satisfied the band's original brief of "making music girls can dance to".
Gigs like this will certainly help promote the stellar new album, while providing the right recollections of a band with one of modern rock's strongest back catalogues.
At the end of the day, that's the kind of thing to love.
4/5
Indie 3 piece Primitive Parts provided the support slot for the Glasweigan headliners. While their sound was not as polished and suffered a little, they delivered a composed and comfortable evening's work. Their unusual dynamic of having 2 guitarists and no bassist also gelled as the evening progressed. They also ended on a welcome surprise, by playing a song from the Yummy Fur - one of Alex Kapranos' pre-Franz bands.
No comments:
Post a Comment