Franz Ferdinand, Festival Hall Melbourne.

The aroma of stale beer hung in the air of the historic venue that is Festival Hall as Franz Ferdinand took to the stage. After an epic performance at Splendour in the Grass the Glaswegians showed no signs of slowing down.

Lead singer  Alex Kapranos  is the front man of all front men with his ability to engage the audience, reaching out the them imploring they sing along  and ‘ Feel the love’.  He is everything a front man should embody, from the skills on the guitars to the high kicks and gravity deifying jumps Kapranos puts on a good show. Whilst the heady days of Brit Pop being on the top of the charts are long gone a new generation is now reliving the highs of the era and Kapranos has them eating out of his outstretched palm.

Working through a set list comprising of “Dark of The Matinee”, ” No You Girls” , ” Always Ascending ” there isn’t a moment when the crowd are not dancing with abandon. Even the semi- fans here to experience the few songs they know dance with abandon, making the floor shake.

Saving the best of course for last the room erupts in excitement as the opening bars of mega- hit ‘ Take Me Out’ ring out and for those few moments there is an air of pure pleasure as strangers dance and laugh along side each other.

As the sweaty crowd file out into the crisp winters evening, the floor littered with plastic cups the lads of Franz Ferdinand have shown yet again that whilst other Brit Pop alum may have faded into the shadows of obscurity  Franz Ferdinand the band have thrived with good music and a great live experience.

Words and images by Amanda Lee Starkey