FRANZ FERDINAND IGNITE WARSAW

Since coming on to the music scene in 2003, Franz Ferdinand have been one of the most explosive bands in rock music. Having seen at least one show on ever tour since then, the band has never disappointed and on Monday night at Warsaw in Brooklyn, they yet again put on quite the display for the sold-out crowd.

The moment Alex Kapranos strode on to the stage he was a magnet for everybody’s eyes. Multiple times through the evening he leaned into the front of the audience, driving those who waited in line to be in the front of the stage absolutely wild. Alex is one of the best front men in rock music, expertly working the crowd to a frenzy. He jumped about the stage with all of the energy in the world from start to finish.

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The set was dotted with fantastic takes of “Matinee,” “The Fallen” and “Michael.” “Do You Want To” became a gigantic call and response with the crowd and “Take Me Out” had the crowd jumping along with Alex. What was great was the band previewed four new songs that all fit perfectly in with the rest of their catalog. The best of the four was easily “Always Ascending” that will most likely open or close the next album. The song opened the encore and was met with the biggest response compared to the other three new ones.

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The band sounded as tight as they always have, despite the loss of Nick McCarthy, who left to focus on his family. To make up for the loss the band brought in Dino Bardot on guitar and Julian Corrie on guitar synthesizer, and keys. Hearing the old songs with some extra instruments gave them a little more power. It was weird to watch Alex not interact Nick on stage, he seemed more playful with Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson. The comradery that the entire band shows on stage was beautiful.

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Franz Ferdinand

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They ended with the powerful threesome of “Darts of Pleasure,” “Love Illumination,” which included band introductions, and a wild “This Fire.” The whole show seemed as if it was a cathartic release for all in attendance. Hopefully the band will be back around before the end of the year with some more new music for everyone to hear.

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Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand setlist

Wanna and Omni opened the show. The one song of Wanna that I caught was some high energetic rock and roll. Omni’s set was reminiscent of early Talking Heads. The three-piece outfit were tight and the crowd was hooked their entire set. Paul Thomson joined the band on drums on their last song, which got the crowd primed for Franz’s set.