 Media Credit: Virgin.com Franz Ferdinand doesn´t just stand around; the group knows how to perform.
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Singer-guitarist Alex Kapranos strode onto a darkened stage Saturday, lightly shrugging as he adjusted his guitar strap. It wasn't long after the rest of his mates joined him for the opening number, "Jacqueline," that the crowd shrugged off any lingering doubts it may have had that Franz Ferdinand would fail to repeat the success of last year's tour.
The boys of Glasgow delivered an inspired, hour-and-a-half long rendition of hits, both old and new. They got some help from a youngish capacity crowd that was ready to go from the first chord and was surprisingly well-versed in the band's new material.
After "Jacqueline," a terrific opening number, Franz took the crowd into some new hits. "Do You Want To," the first single off its sophomore effort, was played early on, and "The Fallen," "You're the Reason I'm Leaving," and "This Boy," were all memorable performances. Perhaps as a sign of the band's confidence, its breakout hit "Take Me Out" was played halfway through the concert instead of being saved for the finale.
Kapranos, with his trademark banter, introduced the song by saying, "Bob [Hardy, the somewhat reserved bassist] wanted us to play this."
The crowd laughed along with the band members, all of which were clearly enjoying themselves throughout the show. Then again, nearly anything said in their distinctive Scottish accent was bound to be funny.
One of the more memorable moments was Franz's performance of "Walk Away," an intriguing fresh track off the new album. Kapranos admitted that the quartet had "just started playing it live," and they had to shuffle some people around on instruments, but it was one of the highlights of the show.
The group also deserves credit for what it didn't play. Though Franz Ferdinand doesn't really have any bad songs, a track like "Eleanor, Put Your Boots Back On" would have undoubtedly slowed the tempo. But throughout the entire set the pace never slackened. The quartet played with raw energy and seemed as excited as kids in a candy shop the whole time. Kapranos was downright giddy, jumping on top of the drums and sliding around the floor with guitar in hand. The group stepped it up another notch when it returned for a rousing encore, closing with extended versions of "Evil and a Heathen" and "This Fire." During the course of the latter, the fired-up crowd sang the entire song as two extras with the band joined Paul Thomson on the drums.
I missed the first opening act, a trio from down under called Cut Copy, but the band that followed - another Glasgow foursome, Sons and Daughters - put on a decent performance that got the crowd sufficiently primed for Franz. The lead singer from Sons and Daughters had a wonderful voice and sang with tremendous energy, but her disconcertingly bizarre dancing detracted somewhat from the music (even stranger, the woman behind me seemed to be doing the same dance - maybe it's a Scottish thing).
Erratic dancing aside, Franz put on a flawless performance at the Orpheum. The group will be performing in Canada and Europe over the next several weeks, but if it comes back for another American tour, I recommend you pick up tickets. If they play even half as well as they did Saturday, you won't regret it.
Spring Break
