CityLife

Franz Ferdinand

CHARISMATIC: Alex Kapranos

FROM their incarnation in 2002, Franz Ferdinand were one of those rare bands that were perfectly formed.

Armed with a clear manifesto, impeccable taste and a dress code derived in charity shop heaven, they released an eponymous debut that has become a modern classic, paving the way for a generation of art-pop imitators.

Its success seems to have been a blessing and a curse in equal measure.

Since the debut, standards, perhaps inevitably, have dropped a little. Second album You Could Have had it so Much Better proved prophetic, whereas new album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the first in four years, has been met with unwarranted indifference by many.

Public's affections

However, no matter their position in the public’s affections, Franz can always be relied upon to turn in live performances of understated glamour and no little thrill, and tonight is no exception. 

It is to their credit that nearly every song aired sounds like a hit single, with even the more mundane moments from the new album, such as Turn it On, reborn live, played direct and loud and with a sense of adventure that is absent from the calculated nature of Tonight…

The old stuff is greeted with predictable delirium. It’s not just the words that are bellowed back, either, and you know you’re onto a winner when, like on several occasions, a guitar riff is sang along to with as much gusto as the chorus. 

Alex Kapranos is still the knowingly arch frontman, all suggestive poses and deliberate looks, but its actually Nick McCarthy’s relentlessly inventive guitar work that elevates the Franz live experience, an explosive wig-out at the end of What She Came For a case in point. 

A reminder, if one was needed, that Franz Ferdinand are still Britain’s most charismatically enthralling live band.