Reflections of Darkness - Music Magazine - Franz Ferdinand

Details: Written by: Sebastian Huhn; Published: 26 November 2009

Philipshalle, Düsseldorf, Germany
24th November 2009
Franz Ferdinand, The Cribs

FRANZ FERDINAND is, according to various statements, always a guarantor for a funny evening with good music. On 24th November, the gentlemen came to Düsseldorf to prove that they can fully live up to all that given praise.

The Cribs

Brothers Gary, Ryan and Ross Jarman founded THE CRIBS back in 2002. Their first, self-titled album was released in 2004, receiving mixed reviews. Their sophomore ‘The New Fellas’ followed just one year later. It placed at #11 in the NME's “Albums of the Year” in 2005. ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever’, their third studio album displayed a progress towards a lesser lo-fi sound as showed on their previous records. In 2008, legendary guitar player Johnny Marr (THE SMITHS) joined them as a full-time member. Their newest effort ‘Ignore the Ignorant’ has been put out just this year! http://www.thecribs.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/thecribs

Music & Performance
A large-scale banner already revealed the band’s name already when we walked into the hall and got ourselves a good place in front of the stage. Another reason to look forward to this band was Johnny Marr, co-founder of THE SMITHS and an extraordinary guitar player. The guys soon entered the stage and started with full throttle into their set with ‘We were aborted’, the opening song off their new album. The drums were kicking fast, the guitars minimalist to elaborate and the double vocal part added the icing on the cake. Marr remained on the left part of the stage most of the time being more focused on playing, but still not motionless. The real action was made by Gary and Ryan though, barely being able to keep their overflowing energies controlled. The audience in front of the stage picked up the bits of energy they got from up their and were bursting into enthusiasm and applause for the guys. A triumphal debut in Düsseldorf for the band so to speak!

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10

Franz Ferdinand

Scottish whirlwind band FRANZ FERDINAND came into being in 2002. Each band member has been involved in various other musical projects prior to the band’s foundation. They earned first success with the single ‘Take Me Out’, taken off their first album ‘Franz Ferdinand’, released in 2004. The album also received a generally strong positive response from critics and in September 2004 was awarded with the “Mercury Music Prize”. The band spent the following time in the studio recording the follow-up ‘You Could Have It So Much Better’ which came out in October 2005. The tour following the album’s release became an incredible success. Work on the next album started in 2007 and would take a good year to be completed. The album was eventually out in January 2009 and featured a greater variety of influences, including a more prominent use of electronics. FRANZ FERDINAND is Alex Kapranos (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Nicholas McCarthy (lead guitar, keys, background vocals), Robert Hardy (bass) and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion, e-guitar, background vocals). http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/ / http://www.myspace.com/franzferdinand

Music & Performance
You could say that people got a little impatient during the rebuilding break. Must’ve felt like forever. But it all turned into pure bliss when the lights dimmed and a circling electronic din filled the room leading into fast, free-style piano playing and the band’s appearance on stage. The show started with ‘Auf Achse’ and without having to sing much, the audience succumbed to Alex Kapranos’ charm. ‘Do you Want To ‘would pick up where the opener left off and the crowd around me, infected by the track’s groove, danced and partied wildly to it. Next song was ‘Can’t stop Feeling’ which struck a mid-tempo pace which could keep nobody from dancing though. A special thing with this track was the video footage projected on a blue light grid in the background. “I love the sound of you walking away”. Once, Alex had started these lines from ‘Walk Away’, a pure, melancholic tune, the whole building continued to sing the lines. A great moment of the show!

The balladry ‘Live Alone’, started with a-capella introduction of the chorus and afterwards brought some 70s flair to the venue with its distinctive sounds that reminded me so much of songs I’ve heard of that era. That was before ‘Tell her tonight’ upped the pace again and ‘This Fire’ rose just what the title says: A fire created by the emotions of all the people singing along to the track, and the band kept hyping them up. ‘Take Me Out’ ended the main part of the set leaving a crowd begging for more. They’d get what they’re longing for with a “little” encore block, also including their hit ‘Darts of Pleasure’. A few lines of the song are in German mentioning “Ich heisse super fantastisch / Ich trinke Schampus mit Lachsfisch”. Even if you were in the saddest of shapes that day, you couldn’t help but laughing about these hilarious lines. An incredible performance which left nobody regretting to come to Düsseldorf that day!

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 9
Total: 8.6 / 10