Franz Ferdinand @ Luna Park,Sydney (4/03/10)

Mon 8th Mar, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Yves Klein Blue, the four-piece from Brisbane, took to the stage a somewhat demure vibe that was reciprocated with an appreciative applause from the crowd. With two albums to their name and a national tour with Cloud Control about to begin, the boys pushed out their songs with enough ardour and soul to thaw even the frostiest of hearts. The jangling beats of Getting Wise worked the crowd into a dancing frenzy with punters enthusiastically singing along as frontman Michael Tomlinson pounded away at his keyboard, crooning into the microphone with mellow vocals.

As the band launched into Polka that was stripped right back with the effect of sounding a lot folkier than on the album. Not that this put anyone off; if anything, it excited the punters who saw the toned down version as an opportunity to yell the lyrics back to the band; a cacophony of words that were vocalised with such ardent energy whether they be on or off-key. The familiar keyboard opening of Make Up Your Mind gave the crowd a renewed sense of groove as the song saw the formation of a body-swaying, hip-swinging orgy. A sea of movers and shakers carried the set well into the closing stages. A most commendable act from the boys, who left the crowd musically buttered up and dancingly well oiled.

Franz Ferdinand were met with a clamour and a collective roar from the crowd. The Scottish quartet launched straight into their first song, the guitars of Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy and Bob Hardy plucking out those quaint chords of The Dark of the Matinee. Paul Thomson’s unfaltering drum beats paired with Kapranos’ sultry pipes in Michael saw a sizeable mosh form at the front of the crowd. A wall of sweaty bodies jumping relentlessly to the notes the band ripped out on stage was an incredible vision; one could not help but join in. 40 Ft and Ulysses worked the crowd; Take Me Out and No You Girls tore the place up; Do You Want To and Walk Away were thrown in for good measure.

Fueled by the intensity of the crowd’s appreciation, the encore came as no surprise, the band instantly picking up where they left off having exited stage right a mere minute before. This Fire created such a din it was hard to distinguish where the audience ended and the band began. Frontman Kapranos toyed with the crowd, singing notes into the microphone before offering it to the punters who yelled it back to him with twice the zeal. A guitar pick and a drum stick were thrown into the crowd as the boys stood shoulder to shoulder and bowed; a sweaty and adrenaline-filled audience provided ample backdrop to an incredible night.

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