[Live Review] FRANZ FERDINAND (Melbourne)

Franz Ferdinand-28

Forum Theatre, Melbourne.
Thursday November 14, 2013 :

It’s only been a few years since the Scottish powerhouse Franz Ferdinand last visited these shores, but geez I think we’ve missed them. With a new record under their belt, (Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action), the boys were ready to send a sold out Forum Theatre into raptures.

First up on the night though were the impressive UV Race. These locals, fresh off playing ATP only a few weeks back, worked the crowd that were pouring into the venue. With tracks about cops turning into cat, ninja submarines and lego men, it’s hard to not see why Alex Kapranos has given his personal praise. The indie/punk six piece got things working nicely. Lead singer Marcus’s shirtless / toy guitar wielding antics definitely keep punters eye ahead.

By the time the headline act came around, the screams could be heard from the very back of the venue. The barrier alined with girls all swooning and smiling thanks to the handsome men on stage reached fever pitch when by the third song in we hit ‘No You Girls’. This stellar 21 song set had waves of tempo throwing the crowd from arm waving to moshing to disco style dancing. All past four albums are equally represented and some particular highlights from the audience were ‘Ulysses’, ‘Take Me Out’ and ‘Darts of Pleasure’.

The newer tracks still had choruses of crowd participation as it goes to show Franz Ferdinand can create music so well. I don’t know how these guys keep up the energy for the almost two hours, but they seem to thrive off it. Alex gives us his genuine heartfelt acknowledgment of enjoyment after about an hour. It’s easy to see why they like coming back to this country.

The show almost has a sense of something to prove though. Franz Ferdinand have more then enough material to play for hours and hours but with minimal words between songs, you can tell this is all about keeping the eyes locked forward and the fists raised high. The set seemed so carefully planned as to make everyone ride the roller coaster of enjoyment. I was a little thrown back by the absence of Bob Hardy. I had not heard of anything regarding this but the young lad filling in hit everything right and looked the part.

It still almost has not sunk in with all the songs this Melbourne crowd were treated to.
Starting with ‘Bullet’, speeding through to ‘Do You Want To’, ‘Stand On The Horizon’ and so on, this show won’t be forgotten anytime soon. We get to experience an almost rave like dance fest when ‘Can’t Stop Feeling’ makes great use of synth and strobes. I feel like I’m in the wrong, but ultimately right place.

So we are all treated with a five song encore including the title track from the new record, ‘Right Action’, then on through hits ‘Michael’, ‘Jacqueline’ and ‘Outsiders’. Lastly the four of them group together for a session of communal drumming on Paul’s kit.

Nothing bad can or will be said about this event. It really was everything live music makes you crave more and more of. It doesn’t dip or flatten and this just shows how professional the band are. 1 hour and 45 minutes might be enough for some, but tonight’s event was enough to make me beg them to come back asap and play longer! When that time comes, I’ll leave the camera at home.

Reviewer and Photographer: Ian Laidlaw

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