I'd give it a 9. I thought they were fantastic. They rocked harder than on the CD, but still had that great dancing groove. What a great time.
Franz Ferdinand roll call
Incredible show, their rendition of Take Me Out was amazing - very disco-ish which really got the crowd moving… just great energy by the band all through the night… I'm def glad I saw them in a more intimate venue especially since some of their shows were at bigger places (Webster Hall, and Volume is a Brooklyn warehouse!)
Also, check out their official site. They just signed to Domino Records.
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
They are on Ba Da Bing Records
how was this non dancing jumping around different from pogoing?
Originally posted by pollard:less unified and with no prior knowledge of what pogoing is?
how was this non dancing jumping around different from pogoing?
i should have also added that while the filming aspect made the crowd more energetic i'm sure, it did seem as though the audience (not the band) was almost trying too hard.. it was really annoying when everyone would throw their hands into the camera as the guys did a sweeping shot of the audience, etc. but then i also thought " hm what a great idea, tell the audience you're filming a live dvd and their energy and attention will increase dramatically!!" and then not really film at all. at least every show would be consistently fun!
Originally posted by gellman:the red house painters song?
Incredible show, their rendition of Take Me Out was amazing - very disco-ish which really got the crowd moving..
Thought the show was a load of fun but while I was impressed, I was not blown away. Musically, the band was remarkably tight but I thought Alex's singing was pretty lazy on some songs. And the harmonies were excreable at times. I was suprised that the band (with the exception of Alex) is so genuinely dweeby. Here I was thinking it was all affectation but I decided by the end of the show that the guitarist/keyboardist's Freaks-n-Geeks-like presence was no act.
I wanted to like Sons and Daughters more but the dreadfulness of the two singers was too hard to ignore – like John Doe and Exene Cervenka gone horribly wrong. However, I was very amused by the scowling bass player who was so mechanized and devoid of energy that I wanted to demand that she be returned to the Robert Palmer video she was borrowed from.
I wore my Coachella t-shirt and was suprised by the number of people asking me how certain bands were. Bring on 2005!
I wanted to like Sons and Daughters more but the dreadfulness of the two singers was too hard to ignore – like John Doe and Exene Cervenka gone horribly wrong. However, I was very amused by the scowling bass player who was so mechanized and devoid of energy that I wanted to demand that she be returned to the Robert Palmer video she was borrowed from.
I wore my Coachella t-shirt and was suprised by the number of people asking me how certain bands were. Bring on 2005!
I agree with those who are saying this might be the last time to see them in a place so small. I bought the album purely on the recomendation of a friend without hearing any of it before, and it has yet to stray far from my cd player. More and more people are buying it (it finally cracked the top 50 on the Billboard charts just recently), and they are blowing up on mtv and radio…last night just might be one of those "we were there" type shows for those of us who attended.
And with that said, I thought the crowd was rather tame for live music of that energy. Seemed like it took them playing "Take Me Out" in the middle of the set to get people to start moving around, and then suprisingly, people went off for "Michael." Knowing we might never see them in such an intimate venue again made me want to take advantage of it and move around some. Oh well, excellent show, and I really enjoyed Sons and Daughters as well.
Did anyone get a setlist, or does anyone have any idea of the order of songs? I suck at remembering that sort of stuff.
And yeah bring on Coachella 05. I had a blast at 04, I asked someone about their shirt on my way out, it might have been you haha
And with that said, I thought the crowd was rather tame for live music of that energy. Seemed like it took them playing "Take Me Out" in the middle of the set to get people to start moving around, and then suprisingly, people went off for "Michael." Knowing we might never see them in such an intimate venue again made me want to take advantage of it and move around some. Oh well, excellent show, and I really enjoyed Sons and Daughters as well.
Did anyone get a setlist, or does anyone have any idea of the order of songs? I suck at remembering that sort of stuff.
And yeah bring on Coachella 05. I had a blast at 04, I asked someone about their shirt on my way out, it might have been you haha
Bwhahahaha!!! I thought the same thing! I said, "This chick is straight out of 'Addicted to Love,' but she's really playing her instrument."
Originally posted by Shiverintheshadows:
However, I was very amused by the scowling bass player who was so mechanized and devoid of energy that I wanted to demand that she be returned to the Robert Palmer video she was borrowed from.
Originally posted by freddyadu:you don't own a radio or a tv, do you?
Originally posted by gellman:the red house painters song?
Incredible show, their rendition of Take Me Out was amazing - very disco-ish which really got the crowd moving..
i don't think they could turn that painters song into anything remotely as upbeat.
ok, i wasn't nearly as impressed with sons and daughters as the rest of y'all were. . .after hearing the drummer play the same progression to the same beat. . .i got bored. . .then hearing 3 chord songs with a girl "wailing" off key, i just don't know. i will say that there is a ton of room for improvement, and maybe they'll learn a few more notes and chords.
as for franz ferdinand. . .i noted to ggw, i'm glad to see that 80s guitar tones are back in style. that being said, thought they put on a great show, even if the crowd was full of high schoolers who had to borrow their mom's mini van to drive all their friends to the show.
I snagged a set list – I'll post it tonight or tomorrow for you…after the show nick proceeded to sign and then scribble all over it…
Originally posted by alex:
Did anyone get a setlist, or does anyone have any idea of the order of songs? I suck at remembering that sort of stuff.
I went not expecting to be blown away and it turned out to be a great show. I agree that the vocals were not the best. Perhaps they were mixed out as to not expose vocal weakness (which in a way is a virtue for them) but who really gives a fuck. They sounded great and they put on a fantastic show. They have a great style and even though the media is taking them on a baloon ride, at least they are promoting a band that actually deserves recognition. Bravo.
Man, Sunday shows are tough (though Mondays are the worst, in my book). Hence, I'm amazed at how much I enjoyed the show. While I really like the album, I'm not in love/lust with it the way some of my friends are, and the live venue really brought out a better energy and overall vibe. Some of it was bit stagey, but I loved it. Especially Nicholas, the keyboard-playing guitar player with all the 80s dance moves and Kyle Machlachlan posing.
Interestingly, while some of you noted that this may be the last time we see them in a venue of this size, about midway through the show I could clearly visualize them at the Black Cat – a smaller show which could just blow the audience away. Oh how I wish they hadn't skipped that step.
I was in the back, so I'm sure I missed out on a bit of the energy of the place, but I still had dancing fans around me (including one blonde hipster chick who kept dancing with her man and never once looked over to check out the band!), and I got to see Skeeter! [Sorry I didn't get to say bye, Marni and I snuck up for the encore to check out the band close up close.]
Wish I could have hung out after the show, but a long weekend left me with little zest for anything but sleep! 'Cuz damn, there were a lot of boardies there!
Interestingly, while some of you noted that this may be the last time we see them in a venue of this size, about midway through the show I could clearly visualize them at the Black Cat – a smaller show which could just blow the audience away. Oh how I wish they hadn't skipped that step.
I was in the back, so I'm sure I missed out on a bit of the energy of the place, but I still had dancing fans around me (including one blonde hipster chick who kept dancing with her man and never once looked over to check out the band!), and I got to see Skeeter! [Sorry I didn't get to say bye, Marni and I snuck up for the encore to check out the band close up close.]
Wish I could have hung out after the show, but a long weekend left me with little zest for anything but sleep! 'Cuz damn, there were a lot of boardies there!
*slaps forehead* That's who he reminded me of…
Originally posted by Bagalicious Tangster:
Especially Nicholas, the keyboard-playing guitar player with all the 80s dance moves and Kyle Machlachlan posing.
shiver me timbers that was quite the show! i overdosed on teenagers, though. but it was such a good show that the annoying teenies didn't take away from the overall fantasticness that was this show. my only sadness comes from the fact that i too think the next time the franz return it won't be to the 9:30…but we'll always have the live dvd (whenever it comes out)
I thought it was one of the better shows I've been to so far this year. The audience energy was definitely higher than normal for a 9:30 Club show. I enjoyed it immensely.
I was really impressed by FF's performance. Every song sounded better live than on the album, I thought.
Where can I buy the DVD that was supposedly being recorded?
The crowd was a bit on the young side, but not annoyingly so.
Sons and Daughters was OK, but not particularly good really.
Nicholas reminded me of Kyle Maclachlan as well! It's like he could be Kyle's twin or something.
I was really impressed by FF's performance. Every song sounded better live than on the album, I thought.
Where can I buy the DVD that was supposedly being recorded?
The crowd was a bit on the young side, but not annoyingly so.
Sons and Daughters was OK, but not particularly good really.
Nicholas reminded me of Kyle Maclachlan as well! It's like he could be Kyle's twin or something.
thumbs up to darth ed for typing up the rest of my reactions to the show ;)
Dukes of Happiness
Franz Ferdinand, Forgetting to Frown
By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 22, 2004; Page C01
When you name a band Franz Ferdinand – after the Austrian archduke whose assassination sparked the First World War and led to a far-reaching realignment of global power – either you have a deep sense of a history or an impish sense of humor. It could mean "We will ignite a bonfire and change rock for a good long time," or "Dance, everybody, and while you're at it, dig our goofy name."
The Scottish quartet that played the 9:30 club Sunday night couldn't possibly have international upheaval on its collective mind. Revolutionaries, for one thing, tend to take themselves too seriously, and nobody will accuse the FF boys of that. For 60 fiery and unblushing minutes, they leaped, swiveled and did slow, Elvis Presley-style arm sweeps that probably came across as provocative in the late '50s. Lead singer and guitarist Alex Kapranos smiled a lot, and when he returned for a two-song encore, his shirt was unbuttoned – a breach of indie rock's anti-exhibitionism rule if there ever was one.
It's an attitude that sparkles through the band's self-titled debut album, which was released in March and hailed by the British press with the sorts of reviews that can doom a young band. ("Best new band in Britain," raved the music magazine NME.) Their abundant lack of gloom sets them starkly apart from the fashionably aloof, slightly retro bands they have borrowed from and now will compete against, most notably the Strokes and Interpol.
The branch of the family tree from which all of these bands descend has some pretty dour and depressive relatives in its recent past. New Order and the Cure are particular inspirations to Franz Ferdinand (as are more cheerful Brit-pop standard-bearers, like Blur, whose 1994 tune "Girls and Boys" is echoed time and again on FF's album.) But if Kapranos and co-songwriter and co-singer/guitarist Nick McCarthy brood in their lyrics about breakups and romantic disappointments, they bury those sentiments under chirpy beats and harmonized choruses that turn every song into a dance number.
The disco-fied "This Fire" is about a guy so enraged by something or other that he wants to set his city ablaze. Without a lyric sheet, you'd never guess that "Cheating on You" is a nasty get-lost to an unfaithful girlfriend – between their brogue and how low the vocals were mixed, it was hard to tell what Kapranos and McCarthy were singing, for starters. But the music has a happy-hour glow that simply obliterates the darkness of the words. It's as though Franz Ferdinand learned at the feet of some grim-faced masters, then realized their own outlook was too sunny and their own personalities too extroverted to bum anyone out or to feign anxiety.
In part, that's because they're addicted to a fast, almost campy tempo that had everyone at the 9:30 in motion for almost the entire show. It gets difficult to tell Franz Ferdinand's songs apart after a while because they all eventually follow the same jumping-jack beat and most of them land with the all-at-once finality and thunk of a lawn dart. The charitable take is that, at least for the time being, they're specialists. They do one thing and they do it very well.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59213-2004Jun21.html
Franz Ferdinand, Forgetting to Frown
By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 22, 2004; Page C01
When you name a band Franz Ferdinand – after the Austrian archduke whose assassination sparked the First World War and led to a far-reaching realignment of global power – either you have a deep sense of a history or an impish sense of humor. It could mean "We will ignite a bonfire and change rock for a good long time," or "Dance, everybody, and while you're at it, dig our goofy name."
The Scottish quartet that played the 9:30 club Sunday night couldn't possibly have international upheaval on its collective mind. Revolutionaries, for one thing, tend to take themselves too seriously, and nobody will accuse the FF boys of that. For 60 fiery and unblushing minutes, they leaped, swiveled and did slow, Elvis Presley-style arm sweeps that probably came across as provocative in the late '50s. Lead singer and guitarist Alex Kapranos smiled a lot, and when he returned for a two-song encore, his shirt was unbuttoned – a breach of indie rock's anti-exhibitionism rule if there ever was one.
It's an attitude that sparkles through the band's self-titled debut album, which was released in March and hailed by the British press with the sorts of reviews that can doom a young band. ("Best new band in Britain," raved the music magazine NME.) Their abundant lack of gloom sets them starkly apart from the fashionably aloof, slightly retro bands they have borrowed from and now will compete against, most notably the Strokes and Interpol.
The branch of the family tree from which all of these bands descend has some pretty dour and depressive relatives in its recent past. New Order and the Cure are particular inspirations to Franz Ferdinand (as are more cheerful Brit-pop standard-bearers, like Blur, whose 1994 tune "Girls and Boys" is echoed time and again on FF's album.) But if Kapranos and co-songwriter and co-singer/guitarist Nick McCarthy brood in their lyrics about breakups and romantic disappointments, they bury those sentiments under chirpy beats and harmonized choruses that turn every song into a dance number.
The disco-fied "This Fire" is about a guy so enraged by something or other that he wants to set his city ablaze. Without a lyric sheet, you'd never guess that "Cheating on You" is a nasty get-lost to an unfaithful girlfriend – between their brogue and how low the vocals were mixed, it was hard to tell what Kapranos and McCarthy were singing, for starters. But the music has a happy-hour glow that simply obliterates the darkness of the words. It's as though Franz Ferdinand learned at the feet of some grim-faced masters, then realized their own outlook was too sunny and their own personalities too extroverted to bum anyone out or to feign anxiety.
In part, that's because they're addicted to a fast, almost campy tempo that had everyone at the 9:30 in motion for almost the entire show. It gets difficult to tell Franz Ferdinand's songs apart after a while because they all eventually follow the same jumping-jack beat and most of them land with the all-at-once finality and thunk of a lawn dart. The charitable take is that, at least for the time being, they're specialists. They do one thing and they do it very well.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59213-2004Jun21.html
Set list from Sunday's show:
Cheating on you
tell her tonight
auf achse
jacqueline
40 feet
take me out
love and destroy
van tango
natinee
come on home
michael
dars of pleasure
—
shopping for blood
bang bang???
this fire
Cheating on you
tell her tonight
auf achse
jacqueline
40 feet
take me out
love and destroy
van tango
natinee
come on home
michael
dars of pleasure
—
shopping for blood
bang bang???
this fire