It’s hard to believe it’s been two decades since the emergence of Franz Ferdinand, about halfway between the death of Brit Pop and the mainstream popularity of what has come to be known as indie sleaze. The post-punk revivalists hailing from Glasgow, who find themselves somewhere between the two, scored a mega-hit with instant anthem “Take Me Out,” which seemed to spend 2004 in line with The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” and Modest Mouse’s “Float On,” vying for the high school “indie kids’” favorite song of the year. They even found themselves alongside other hipsters-turned-hit-makers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Von Bondies, Elbow, The Dandy Warhols, and Super Furry Animals in Michael Winterbottom’s hardcore art house ode to sex, drugs, and Rock N’ Roll, 9 Songs (arguably the coolest thing on Franz Ferdinand’s resume).
However, Franz Ferdinand are now 21 years and five albums in, and currently a little more than halfway through a tour behind a greatest hits record (Hits to the Head, which dropped this March on Domino), and at their stop at The Fillmore Philadelphia last Saturday, August 12th, they appeared to be just that. Fans donning the band’s shirts lined up in front of the venue hours before doors, thirty-and-forty-something suburbanites brought their kids, and the group delivered a 75-ish-minute set of what seemed to be exactly what the audience had come to sing-along to. The band played 18 of the 20 songs on their best-of compilation, and while that may have disappointed slightly headier fans of slightly headier bands, it was literally just what this crowd ordered. In fact, “Take Me Out,” written as a metaphor for wanting a toxic relationship to be ended for you, seemed more appropriate than ever as a rallying cry for a night of Rock N’ Roll for people now likely required to spend the majority of their time on the practical and mundane necessities that come with raising a family and paying a mortgage.
If lacking in deep cuts, the group’s slightly short, just-the-hits set gave both audience and band just the energy they needed for a full-blown Rock N’ Roll show in the fancier-than-average mega-ballroom. In fact, lead vocalist, guitarist, and co-founder Alex Kapranos – who hit 50 this year – spent much of the set in the air, mid-leap. Kapranos, along with fellow founding member Bob Hardy (bass), retained nearly all of 21st Century beatnik cool of their original sartorial style, in addition to the onstage swagger of the most unaged heroes of classic rock. If the set was lacking anything, it was simply the inclusion of “Jacqueline,” the first song of their 2004 self-titled debut, and their contribution to Michael Winterbottom’s 9 Songs, which at least one former art school pervert was reeeaaallllllyyy hoping to hear…
