Franz Ferdinand

A couple of months ago, at the beginning of April, Franz Ferdinand had the great idea of including a date in Barcelona on their tour.  Not that I would not have seen them otherwise though: I saw them last summer at Rock en Seine and that was the exact reason why I decided to buy my ticket for their gig in Barcelona. Of course, I didn't know at that time that they would also play at Solidays (yes, at the end of this month). So in the end, I would have seen them three times in a year... Few bands could say the same!

I have been following Franz Ferdinand since their debut album -with more or less attention, it's true. Maybe their second album didn't fascinate me that much, for example. I quite enjoyed the last one but the real surprise for me came from the fact that it had been a while I hadn't seen them live. And that show at Rock en Seine was such a complete in-your-face reminder of how good they are on stage! Not only good... Just so much better now than they have ever been! I remember their first show in Paris, probably not so long after the first album was released. It was kinda nice but the sound was so-so and the band didn't look exactly comfortable on stage. There was something a little gawky about them and Alex Kapranos' voice sounded a bit hesitant sometimes. 

Clearly, if there is one thing you can say about Franz Ferdinand, it's that they sure knew how to evolve positively! You may or may not be into their music but you can't deny the fact that they own the stage now in a way that few bands still know how to. And it was even truer at their concert in Barcelona: freed from the limitations that the format of a festival necessarily imposes, the band threw a real party in Sant Jordi Club! Even Alex Kapranos acknowledged it, confidently looking at the crowd: "It feels like a party." And it was! It so completely was... I had rarely seen a crowd so enthusiastic and energetic during a concert in Barcelona. Well... Alright, I also saw Depeche Mode at the beginning of the year and there was a hell of an enthusiastic crowd there too. Still, Franz Ferdinand completely nailed it on that night, stringing the songs together with almost no time to take your breath in-between the guitar riffs. The set list was quite democratic, taking from all four of their records. Some songs in particular nearly tore the Sant Jordi Club down -I swear I could feel the wall beside me vibrating! The crowd fell into collective hysteria during songs like "Take Me Out", "This Fire", "Do You Want To",... And it just struck me as the concert went by: I didn't remember just how many great songs Franz Ferdinand have written!

The concert ended with the band members joining the drummer for an impressive collective percussion session, before relevantly putting an end to the encore with "Goodbye Lovers and Friends"... Alright, I'll check at the end of this month if you still have so much energy, Franz Ferdinand!...