By Ralf Kuhling
Things had gotten a bit quiet around Franz Ferdinand, the British indie pop high-flyers who caused a sensation in 2004 with their self-titled debut album. And then, as a result, raked in all the awards that there was to win.
Their last regular studio album “Always Ascending” comes from 2018, the latest work is a best of, called “Hits To The Head.” On Monday evening they made a guest appearance at the Verti Music Hall.
It started right away with “The Dark Of The Matinée”, one of their greatest and most beautiful songs. Played precisely and correctly to the point, perfect as if from a record, crystal-clear sound. And one could fear that a well-oiled but cold hit machine would be unwound that evening.
Nothing there, false alarm. And that was mainly due to singer and guitarist Alex Kapranos, a highly talented and mercilessly likeable animator and entertainer. He quickly made it clear that he loved every song dearly and wanted to celebrate it as wildly and exuberantly as if it were his last.
His steps on the stage became faster and faster, the contact to the fans at the edge of the stage became more intense. A little flirtation here, a little joke there. He celebrated leaps in the air in the old Rock’n’Roller manner, briefly held the guitar behind his head, skillfully played a few riffs in the position, just like Jimi Hendrix once did. Parody? Irony? Just fun? Anything. And above all: thrilling. And Kapranos also liked to accompany his wild activities with friendly announcements in broken German: “Everything good, Bärlin?”
But yes. Berlin sang along, grooved and danced, seemed inspired and happy. And musically they had every reason to do so: the Franz Ferdinand classics such as “Do You Want To”, “Walk Away” or “Curious” from Platte were already in a class of their own, and Kapranos and fellow musicians gave them a big boost live Packed with dynamism and energy. And these songs, they are timeless, will still sound freshly composed in ten years, that’s what it sounded like.
Franz Ferdinand is all about music and fun, only that should be the focus and nothing else. And they celebrated it in style. The light show was comparatively low key, never intrusive. And there were no moving images flickering on the screen, these thoroughbred musicians can do without video support. Just like on fiery pyrotechnics, which is now used in every second hit star, which often looks ridiculous.
Franz Ferdinand don’t need any of that, but hopefully we’ll be happy with a new album soon.