- FONZ FERDINAND
Franznote:
The best example of branding in music today; the Franz Ferdinand logo evokes the sound of edge-of-your-feet rock. And it's everywhere, from Hackney's underpasses to Barcelona billboards. Now it's in Prague and after tonight's virtual home-town performance, Fonz Kafka is happy to have them move in.
Franz Ferdinand have officially knocked Weezer off their perch as the ultimate Happy Days band. They have freshman rock moves The Fonz would steal. But even Fonzie would've had difficulty keeping his kewl tonight, as the venue they chose for tonight's Prague gig is hotter than Hansel. So hot right now.
The mighty Roxy Club, which hosted the Dandy Warhols last week, suits Franz ethos, with an old film projector propped up against the bar and Spanish foozballers challenging Czech locals.
Franz Ferdinand blister out of the blocks, bathed in staccato red light, building from Nick McCarthy's lead guitar, into the huge balls-out rhythm section that lumbers along with ridiculous authority, climaxing in Alex Kapranos booming "Goodbye girl because I'm lonley", sweat dripping from their chins already. They saunter back and forth like a band that have eight albums under their belt, but play with the ferocity of a group busting to break Czechslovakia. Done deal.
Kapranos, dressed in black silk shirt and blacker slacks, is feeling cookoo tonight, throwing wide-eyed glances and sultry looks around the audience, especially to McCrathy when they have a mexican stand-off with their guitars during "Michael". He's in such good form that when some fuckwit throws a dart on stage (yes, a real dart) he simply picks it up, laughs with arrogant charm and quips "You missed". "This City" and "Take Me Out" are met with rapturous hand-clapping, but this leads the band to tear through these songs a little too fast. It's when they slow up for "Jaqueline" that the jaunty guitars are given room to breathe, and the post-art-rawk charm rises to the top through sincerity. "It's always better on holiday", Kapranos sings through his eyebrows. Amen.
He introduces "Matinee" as "being about dark, dingy places like this". Surprisingly, "Matinee" lifts the roof clear off the Roxy, landing somewhere near the Austrian border and is undoubtedly the highlight, full of oddball riffs that make perfect sense. The awesome foursome leave stage for a brief breath, then return with a new stormer, reintroducing the Franz Ferdinand template.