Franz Ferdinand - Scottish boys enjoy a London stroll...

Usually when a band suggests they'll be on stage at 9pm it really means they'll totter on – most times scratching their greasy nads - around half past at the earliest. When Franz Ferdinand say it, they mean it. On the dot – and, as we all know, punctuality is the new heroin, which makes FF very rock 'n' roll indeed.
Franz Ferdinand are a proper package - they come complete with a sharp look (wedge 'n' bowl haircuts, short sleeve shirts), an attitude (an air of detached amusement) and a neatly defined sound (a sly, rhythmic angularity with flashes of early '80s types like Fall, Orange Juice or Gang Of Four). When Titian-topped bass person Bob thrums his lairy Rickenbacker all over the rigid fury of 'Tell Her Tonight', his eyes scope out the entire crowd and the weight of his intentions make his knees buckle. During "'Auf Asche'" the ghost of early Talk Talk scowls down from above the stage. Guitarist / keyboardist Nick squeezes great lumps of noise fills him with such obvious pleasure that he dances on the spot like a man unfamiliar with the concept of self-consciousness. Later, singer Alex, barely breaking sweat under his set-square precise wedge, will lean back into the deepening well of noise his bandmate's build around the clanking bones of '40 Foot' and clearly lose himself entirely for a minute or more. Interestingly, his eyes-rolling-back reverie reaches an intensity that would get someone not in a pop group sectioned on the spot. But he is. So it's alright.
Then, at the precise moment FF start to come across as a little daunting they play 'Take Her Out' which marries knuckle-draggingly moronic, thump-a-long dynamics to the spun-out, mid-'60s melodic-suss of The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Summer In The City' and I realise how much fun they're actually having.
After precisely 39 minutes they stop and the last thought I have is about how great Funkadelic would be playing the hits of Chas 'n' Dave. But then, I am on drugs.

SOURCE	FM	SOUND QUALITY	A	FORMAT	Mp3	BITRATE	224	TRACKS #	9
LOCATION / VENUE		London		Islington Academy		DATE		12–03
NOTES:		Another recording captured from the XFM live hour.

Franz Ferdinand - the Homecoming show

When Franz Ferdinand started out, their aim was to write songs for girls to dance to. Well, they did that all right and they managed to get boys on board too.
A lucky few (less than 1,000) were treated to a show at Glasgow's Queen Margaret Union this week - a show which was rife with energy, enthusiasm, passion and sweat - lots of sweat.
The foursome, who met at Glasgow Art School, were clearly in their element on home turf. The crowd roared with delight when, after a few songs, lead singer Alex Kapranos announced: "It's good to be home."
Apart from that, the frontman said little else all night, but then he didn't need to, his singing and dancing were more than enough for the crowd.
Named after the archduke of Austria whose assassination is said to have sparked WWI, the Franz boys have shot to fame in what feels like a matter of minutes. Six months ago they were unknown. That's hard to believe when you see them live. Even before the boys came on stage, the crowd were in dance mode thanks to support band Fiery Furnaces from Chicago - who could probably get a sell-out gig of their own at the QMU.
They were the perfect warm-up for Franz - loud drums, funky organ, a brother and sister (plus another talented twosome) who clearly impressed the punters. Frequently compared to the White Stripes, this band is tipped for big things. When Franz Ferdinand came on stage the place predictably erupted and there was one almighty surge as girls screamed for Kapranos - whose 'square' image actually comes across as cool. At times he dances like a robot in a Kraftwerk-type fashion and at other times he sidesteps like a 12-year-old at a school disco. Yet still he manages to pull off the cool thing. The flying sweat, hair pulling, pushing and stamping of the mosh pit is never pleasant, but whatever pain the fans were feeling, it didn't seem to matter. Few people had heard of the band six months ago Take Me Out was the catapult that sent the band hurtling into the world of fame. The song came a little too early in the evening for some but it was an incredible performance and it showed how much of a frenzy this band has created. With an album less than 40 minutes long it was interesting to see if their set would be of equal length. But they played most, if not all, of their self-titled album, which was released in February on the Domino label and they also played some new material which seemed to get the fans' approval just as much as the more well known tracks. Darts of Pleasure, Matinee, Jacqueline, Michael, Take Me Out - they are the stand-out tracks on the album and inevitably the stand-out tracks live. The set was a hit and the Franz boys knew it. They saved one of the favourites, Michael, until near the end of the set. It's about a boy with leather hips and sticky hair. Kapranos sings: "I'm all that you see, you wanna see, so come and dance with me Michael." If Michael knows what's good for him, he'll do what he's told and start dancing. And never stop.

- Jaqueline
- Tell Her Tonight
- Cheating On You
- Auf Achse
- Take Me Out
- Love & Destroy
- Dark Of The Matinee
- Van Tango
- Come On Home
- This Fire
- 40'

SOURCE	FM	SOUND QUALITY	A+	FORMAT	Mp3	BITRATE	224	TRACKS #	11
LOCATION / VENUE		Glasgow		Queen Margaret's Union		DATE		12th April 2004
NOTES: