Franz Ferdinand are one of THE iconic bands of the 21st century. It was an exhilarating experience to see them live again last night at the City Hall, Newcastle; my fifth time taking in the full span of their career.
Opening up to a rousing version of Dark Of The Matinee from their debut LP, Alex Kapranos and co got the crowd moving and cheering wildly from the start. It was clear that they wanted to create a party atmosphere as tracks like the delicious Do You Wanna and The Fallen cut through seismically. In fact their incredible second album, You Could Have It So Much Better, took up an fair slice of the set: a beautiful version of Walkaway; a rare outing for the brilliantly menacing Evil And A Heathen; and arguably still their most thrilling live track, Outsiders.
Also a thrill to hear two songs from different points of their career that the band rarely play these days. 40” from their debut LP which I can’t often remember seeing them do live (with the likely exception of Newcastle University Student Union in 2005). And Stand On The Horizon, which has a special local appeal as Alex sings passionately about South Shields and links to his formative years. Nice to hear that he meets up with family in the area while on tour.
Alex is such a charismatic frontman. Incredibly sharply dressed in his snazzy yellow shirt and dark suit blazer, he seemed to turn the clock back 20 years with his incredible energy, jumping all over the stage. He played rhythm guitar on some tracks, but having the five band members now frees him up to focus on his powerful vocal with the dry intelligent wit of his lyrics ever present. There are definite comparisons to Davids Bowie and Byrne to be made.
Like Talking Heads, the rhythm section of Franz Ferdinand has always been pulsating and vibrant. Newish drummer Audrey was incredible throughout the gig with the percussive crescendo of the aforementioned Outsiders particularly showcasing her talents on the kit. Bob on bass still clearly loves performing. He dazzled on several tracks, especially the brilliant Evil Eye.
The newer material was peppered through the set, while not dominating proceedings. It sounded strong with impressive added synths from Julian. It was of course the big tracks that everyone wanted to hear most. Dino on lead guitar treated us to those classic riffs, including their most famous track, Take Me Out.
The encore was absolutely incredible, including final song, the anthemic This Fire. It’s a track which I have often imagined could form an epic mashup with Blondie’s Atomic. Especially the chorus line.
It’s clear that the band still have the hunger for performing. Can’t wait to see them again!
Shout out to the superb Home Counties who opened up for Franz Ferdinand. They were an inspired choice with their infectiously catchy LCD Soundsystem meets Hot Chip vibe. I had previously seen them in a tiny venue at Liverpool’s Sound City a couple of years back. They really got the party started impressively ahead of the main event.
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