(“Red Ferdinand” by Leslie Plesser via flickr published with permission)

Glasgow’s Franz Ferdinand finally found the perfect club to host their type of musical party. After a couple of poor venue choices recently in Minneapolis (the rather drab Northrop Auditorium and the cavernous abomination that is the Target Center), Franz played to a packed First Avenue on Tuesday night, and the club and its enthusiastic audience proved to be a perfect fit for the band and their infectious dance rock. I hadn’t been paying attention to the band’s tour diary, so I had no idea that guitarist Nick McCarthy injured his foot “mysteriously” on tour a few days earlier, so him coming out on crutches was a bit of a surprise. But even though McCarthy played a majority of the show seated in a chair, that didn’t affect the band’s performance or energy level one bit, as they kept the massive crowd cavorting around all evening.

(“Iris Ferdinand” by Leslie Plesser via flickr published with permission)

The band opened up with a spirited version of “Jacqueline” that got the show off to a lively start, but the fuse proved to be tricky to light, as the next couple of numbers found the band struggling a bit to rouse the crowd. But “Michael” changed all of that, as the crowd responded ecstatically to the older song. Franz have really honed their huge, insanely catchy double guitar live sound over the years, and front man Alex Kapranos wielded his as a weapon multiple times during the evening while scissor-kicking his way across the stage, perhaps compensating for McCarthy’s stationary presence by being even more animated than usual. He is a consummate entertainer, doing a great job building tension within the songs, and pogo-ing along with audience when the massive riffs kick in. Kapranos also cheekily joked with the boisterous, wildly supportive crowd “So, you’re just doing OK tonight?”

(video via Franz Ferdinand)

The band did a great job blending songs from all three of their albums throughout the set, and most of the new material fit in seamlessly with their older songs. But the crowd did seem to respond a bit better to the more familiar tracks. “Tell Her Tonight” was an early set highlight, complete with an intricate kaleidoscope of images on the screen behind the band that really added a complimentary visual element to the music throughout the show. The momentum kept up with stellar versions of “Walk Away,” “No You Girls” and a dynamic “Matinee,” that Kapranos dedicated to the night’s opening band, Toronto’s Born Ruffians. It was my favorite performance of the night.

(“Yellow Ferdinand” by Leslie Plesser via flickr published with permission)

I think as people become more accustomed to the songs from the band’s great new record, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, songs like “Twilight Omens” will keep the crowd moving right along with the older material, but on this night at least, it seemed to bring a bit of a lull to the set. That proved to be the calm before the storm however, as the band proceed to absolutely destroy the next three songs, sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy with storming versions of “Do You Want To,” “Take Me Out” (which Kapranos introduced by saying “When I go to shows, sometimes I just like to go fucking crazy. You should go fucking crazy to this one.” And we did) and the fantastic first single from the new record “Ulysses.” It was a lethal trifecta that really set the place off. From that moment on, the crowd did anything Kapranos asked of them, singing along with him on choruses and various call-and-responses he cleverly threaded into the songs.

The connection with the audience was solidified with a bouncy version of “40 Ft.” that Kapranos really teased out with the help of Bob Hardy’s steady bass-line, taking time to introduce the band (Nick McCarthy: “This guy plays fucking everything), at which point I realized Paul Thomson, the band’s drummer, was wearing a Matt’s Jucy Lucy t-shirt. Apparently he is trying to find America’s best burger as they tour the country—wonder how that one stacked up in comparison? But the drawn out nature of the song really built up the tension of the track, and made the explosive climax have much more of a substantial pay-off, which the crowd just ate up, dancing in time to the beat. And with that, the band headed off (well, McCarthy technically hobbled off) before the encore.

(“Smoky Ferdinand” by Leslie Plesser via flickr published with permission)

The encore was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It started with Alex thanking the Twin Cities for always being supportive of their band, how much they appreciate it, and how they always have a fun time in Minneapolis (Kapranos even included a chapter on Nye’s in his culinary travel guide Sound Bites). They kicked into a new track “Bite Hard” that didn’t go over as well as typical first songs of encores usually do. “Outsiders” picked things up quite a bit, especially when the band gathered around the drum kit to bring the song to a superb propulsive finish. When they started playing “Lucid Dreams” I was wondering if they would do the techno-ish four-minute outro to the song that is featured on the album, and they certainly did, bringing Mitch Derosier from Born Ruffians out to bang on some drums in time to the electro-clash beat. It was certainly a different sound for the band, who seemed to have fun tweaking knobs and keyboards instead of their guitars for a change. The band got back to more familiar musical territory on the customary set closer “This Fire,” which ended the show on a real high.

The band seemed genuinely chuffed by the rapturous reception they received from the crowd as they huddled together for a group bow, complete with Nick’s crutches. It was a great way to end a lively, energetic show by a group that has really tightened their potent live show over the years, and who now have a bevy of lethal, massively infectious songs in their catalog to choose from. And as long as the room is right, there’s no reason not to dance right along.

Setlist:
Jacqueline
Turn It On
The Fallen
Michael
Tell Her Tonight
Walk Away
No You Girls
Matinee
Twilight Omens
Do You Want To
Take Me Out
Ulysses
What She Came For
40 Ft.
Bite Hard (encore)
Outsiders (encore)
Lucid Dreams (encore)
This Fire (encore)

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Also: Franz Ferdinand on Later with Jools Holland