Friday 25th November 05 - Franz Ferdinand at Hull Ice Arena (1/2) By Michelle Dee

(1/2), (2/2).

Last night probably the biggest name in recent Indie music touched down in Hull as part of their Europe-wide tour. A tour, which, will see them play thirty-seven dates in sixteen different countries. The tickets were sold out almost as soon as they came on sale, so we knew we were in for a packed gig with plenty of people and a great atmosphere. The Glaswegian multi-award winners sure know how to entertain and fully deserve their meteoric rise to the crown princes of Indie.

Alex Kapranos had charisma running through every fibre of his being, from the neat fringe down to the sparkly shoes. Once everyone was inside, the crowd not only filled the arena front to back but also took up most of the seated area. Franz Ferdinand delighted the crowd with a spectacular set covering well over an hour of onstage time, including a four-song encore. The stage was simply set with two arm-like white catwalks raised right and left and a raised drum riser.

The centre section came out toward the audience's outstretched palms and the band made sure they used every inch of it to strut their stuff to the full.

Either side of the stage two giant screens made sure those further back could see what magic the four-piece were conjuring. The backdrop was decked out in blocks of black and red colour, providing a stark contrast to the blindingly white stage. They thrilled the huge crowd with numbers both past and present. Recent single Do you want to, which I now have to admit is a grower and gets me singing every Saturday, had the crowd jumping up and down in ecstatic frenzy. I'm your Villain also impressed and saw many of the kids doing a bit of audience participation, fists waving madly in the air.

The Dark of the Matinee was just incredible. This is a song loosely based around an old flame of Alex's and is also one of his personal favourites.

The musicianship was superb throughout, the vocals faultless, but what was more engaging was the stagecraft and showmanship. If you look at much of Franz's promotional material, you will see there is an emphasis on shape and form. Each band member will take on a definite pose and create something of a human motif. Through out the performance tonight all the members were engaged in creating these different shapes and symbols with slick movements and statue like poses.

I watched Alex half fall to the floor leaning right over his guitar, as if the strings holding him upright had suddenly been cut. Whether arms out stretched, head cocked to one side, or the silhouette of man and guitar, Nick McCarthy atop the banks of speakers their flamboyance was vividly on show.

Continued....next page (2/2)

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