Alex Kapranos fronts Franz Ferdinand at 9:30 Club on Aug. 10, 2022. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
In a show otherwise as smooth as silk at 9:30 Club, Scots new wavers Franz Ferdinand’s recent concert saw a lone tumultuous moment during the fourth song of the set, “Evil Eye” (which hails from their 2013 album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action).
One troublemaker several rows back from the stage apparently started throwing punches, and Franz frontman Alex Kapranos stopped the show dead to check out the perpetrator’s *wrong* thoughts and wrong action! The house lights came up slightly, and Alex scoffed at the guilty party.
“Really? A fight!” Alex exclaimed. “We’re here for a good time. This is no place to fight.” With the assistance of the lights, 9:30 Club bouncers identified the troublemaker and escorted him out of the venue.
I share the story in part because it cements in my mind who is Alex Kapranos? He’s laidback, he’s a frontman, he’s an entertainer. But he’s also incredibly decisive, he’s a bandleader, and he’s smart as a whip.
On Aug. 10, Franz Ferindand pulled into 9:30 Club for a sold-out show on the North American leg of their greatest hits tour. Earlier this year, the band released Hits to the Head via their career-long label Domino, compiling a total of 20 songs onto a retrspective package. Those 20 songs included “Billy Goodbye” and “Curious,” two awesomely danceworthy *new* songs recorded with the assistance of one of the world’s greatest living pop producers, Stuart Price.
At 9:30 Club, Franz played “Curious” and “Billy Goodbye” a few songs apart in the middle of the show, carrying forward the giddy energy that the band infused into their thoughtfully poppy songs of love, loss and romance. For its part, “Billy Goodbye” is a delightful kiss-off tune, extolling the number’s subject to “Don’t forget the best bits!” It would perhaps have been a proper dedication to our quarrelsome troublemaker earlier in the show. The song’s video served to introduce new Franz drummer Audrey Tait, who permanently replaced founding drummer Paul Thomson in October of last year.
Watch the official music video for “Billy Goodbye” by Franz Ferdinand on YouTube:
Audrey proved to be an awesome accelerant in her live DC debut, igniting the Franz catalog with both calm demeanor and incandescent power. With some old favorite showtime moves, Alex pulled some high kicks as he strutted across the stage early in the show, and Audrey’s drums guided his feet around the platform.
Full of knowing smiles, Alex stepped to his left to play guitar alongside bassist Bob Hardy, the band’s other founding member. He also paraded right to trade licks with guitarist Dino Bardot and keyboardist Julian Corrie, both of whom joined Franz Ferdinand in 2017 after the departure of founding guitarist Nick McCarthy.
In all honestly, every song presented by Franz Ferdinand last week was a stunner from the opening “Jacqueline” (from 2004’s debut self-titled album) and its love of life through mid-set’s memorable dismissal “Walk Away” (from sophisticated sophomore You Could Have It So Much Better) to the encore’s irresistible singalong “Ulysses” (from the sizzling Tonight: Franz Ferdinand). The band fired on all cylinders for personal favorites like “Do You Want To” (again, You Could Have It…), where everything came together dynamically — thumping drums, zippy synths, big bass, and sexy guitars.
Soon, Franz Ferdinand were into the cerebrally romantic “The Dark of the Matinee,” an unusually thoughtful, kinetic, and superbly crafted love song wih a distinctive rat-a-tat drummed by Audrey in the chorus. Multi-instrumentalist Julian picked up a guitar in the song’s more raucous moments and transitioned back to synths for the quiet rumble of the songs verses.
Watch the official music video for “The Dark of the Matinee” by Franz Ferdinand on YouTube:
In the latter half of the show, Franz Ferdinand kept it fresh in part with the mod stylings of “Love Illumation” from Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. Alex changed the register of his voice to sing slightly lower and stiller. Julian stole moments with the song’s synth flourishes, and Bob and Dino nailed all of the bright ’60s-style hooks that make the song so damn catchy.
Before the end of the set, of course, Franz Ferdinand performed “Take Me Out,” their second-ever but still perhaps most famous single. Those melodies! That hook! Alex sprang into the air a few more times for emphasis over the course of the song, elevating the excitement upon hearing it still again (it never gets old) and driving home its beats.
At the end of the day, our love for this show is a salute to Alex, frontman extraordinaire. The hardworking vocalist readily shared the load with the rest of his fantastic band, and together they made really intelligent and truly embraceable music. Alex knows how to put together a truly entertaining show, and you can simply enjoy the whole or analyze the various parts and be amazed anew. He’s a true showman.
At 9:30 Club, the show ended with the last song of the chorus, “This Fire,” for which Alex bid everyone to get low and rise up again to sing the chorus line “Burn this city!” The audience participation and performance was fun and the song was terrific. And of course Alex tailored the lyrics to our fair DC city. Everyone went home with nothing but good vibes and absolutely zero thoughts of fighting.
Here are some photos of Franz Ferdinand performing at 9:30 Club on Aug. 10, 2022. All pictures copyright Parklife DC.
