A short personal review of my first ever Franz Ferdinand gig. I had wanted to see these guys since I first got into them back in 2004. It’s only taken me nearly 14 years…but I got there in the end!
This gig, when I saw the details of it, sounded too good to be true! I bought a ticket to the gig and a copy of the CD for the princely sum of £12! I mean…just whaaaaaa? How could I refuse it? Okay, it was a 100 mile round trip (and “round” being the operative word…as circling the M25 was part of the journey)…but ssooo worth it for that ticket price!
I was aware of it being an all ages gig, an early gig, and that it would not be a full-length set, but it mattered little. It was value for money…AND I’d finally be getting to see Franz live.
The CD landed on the doorstep a day early (actual release date of new album Always Ascending is actually today, Feb 9th, 2018 – and like some other Scottish band last Friday, they’ll be at the HMV in Argyle Street, Glasgow, singing copies of the album.) so it was fab being able to put it on in the car on the way to the gig.
Before hitting the stage, there was a fab mix of Kraftwerk and David Bowie (and one or two Iggy Pop songs) being played through the speakers while waiting. The Bowie tracks were all from Low. Awesome!
They opened the show with a track from the new album called Lazy Boy. And then went straight into The Dark Of The Matinee (well, after Alex had preempted it by saying that they don’t play matinee shows often). After that I think came another track from the album, Paper Cages. Other songs in the set were: Do You Want To, No You Girls, Always Ascending, Feel The Love Go, and of course Take Me Out. It was a short set, but a killer one. And geez, Louise! All ages gigs are CRAZY! Lol. Well, this one was! A bit of pogoing, and a bit of crowd bumping…crushed toes…people falling into each other. Lol. All good fun, and really not too rowdy.
I really enjoyed it…and Alex is a fab frontman. All bravado, machismo and swagger.
I took some pics, but all of them came out crap. Lol. And I grabbed a Facebook live clip of The Dark Of The Matinee, which you can view below.
I would definitely LOVE to see them again with a fuller set. They are playing the Musilac festival as well…but on a different day to Minds, sadly, and I can’t stay to see them 🙁
But I will endeavour to see them again soon somewhere.