
They look like they have fun and the audience certainly did. They are simply one of the best around: cool yet accessible. An encore of Billy Goodbye, Michael and the incendiary stomp of This Fire shows the audience just what the band can do and have been doing for their entire career. An epic version of Always Ascending sees Kapranos mount an amp as stuttering lights shoot past his silhouette, projecting sequins across the space.įor Outsiders they are joined by all-girl instrumental group Los Bitchos, whose debut album Kapranos produced. This night’s rendition of Evil Eye sounds like a UFO landing, a quirky highlight.

The melancholy Walk Away tugs on the heartstrings while being characteristically left-field. No You Girls is as catchy as they make them, as is Do You Want To. His banter to the crowd is warm and affectionate, his deep, Scottish brogue a purr. His hips are Jagger-thin and his on-stage persona exudes a delicate, ironic cockiness. He is a beautiful frontman, a little understated and a little weird, a bit in the school of David Byrne. The show is a reminder of just how many great songs they have written.įrontman Alex Kapranos is a sharp presence in pinstripe suit, red shirt, black shoes with white spats and a guitar strap emblazoned with a flash of lightning. They are such reliable songwriters and musicians that it is almost as though they are taken for granted – some fans believe they are underrated, which they may well be. Their artwork takes a lot of inspiration from the Russian avantgarde and the old propaganda from the USSR, but instead of concerning themselves with agriculture or love of the motherland, it’s post-punk, art rock hits. On stage, Franz Ferdinand’s trademark artwork in black, white and red, hung behind the band declaring Hits to the Head – the greatest hits album this tour is celebrating.

1 The band is composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar, keyboard), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals). On the far side of the city, lightning flashed through low-hanging clouds making them light up momentarily a luminous red. Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in 2002 and based in Glasgow. As shuttle buses called the Franz Ferdinand Express delivered people from the surrounding stations to Alexandra Palace, the view over the whole of London was spectacular.
