What a performance! Franz Ferdinand has been my favorite band of this whole Post Punk revival thing ever since my friend Heather first spun them for me way back whenever. As soon as I found the CD in a store it entered heavy rotation in my car – the kind where I don’t even bother swapping it out after the first (or sometimes second) listen. It just kept going and going. And, much to my delight, the second CD is pretty damn good, too. But I really didn’t expect them to be as amazing live as they were last night at the MSG Theater.
Actually, the entire evening blew me away. Even the first opening act, Cut Copy, was pretty cool – enough that I’ll be checking them out. After them, however, TV on the Radio came out and blew the audience away. I already like the couple song of theirs I had heard, but wow! They were such a brilliant combination of noise, funk, soul, and rock I couldn’t stop tapping my feet.
Then came Franz. I was a little nervous because the first couple songs seemed a little low on energy – I don’t think the were mixed well. But once they broke out with “Do You Want To” it was a non-stop musical frenzy. Not only were the songs fantastic, but these guys know how to put on a show. It was a mixture of your typical live rock improvisations, cool lights, a stage design befitting post-punk modsters and regular crowd interaction. Most of their two albums were played, and by the end I was just amazed at how they continued to top themselves. After one song in the encore included three guys bashing away on the lone drumset, they managed to pull out a stunning rendition of “This Fire” to wrap it all up.
Now I’m just waiting for my chance to see the Killers, the Bravery, and Bloc Party. Just call me a wannabe hipster…