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Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
Like The Strokes, who up to this point have written 22 clever variations of one great song, Franz Ferdinand have made the most of handful of good ideas spread across two albums. That sounds harsher than I mean it to be. Plenty of worthwhile bands have converted a small number of unique themes into successful careers.
There's nothing wrong with doing the same thing over and over if it happens to be interesting. With their sly poses, flashy stage production, and fashion sense confidently defined, Franz Ferdinand delivered their thrashing, strutting concept with such panache I could forgive them for the lack of variation. It's all one speed for Franz, but that speed is fast, reckless and really great fun.
With Alex Kapranos starring as the budding rock deity, the Theatre at Madison Square Garden crowd embraced Franz Ferdinand as rock heroes. Kapranos clearly relished the role. He hammed it up from the opening strum of "Jacqueline" to the climatic "This Fire" with cheeky hand gestures and the occasional pelvic thrust.
When he wasn't seducing the audience, Alex was roaming the stage, accomplishing various feats of daring. He began the fantastic one-two combo of "40 ft." and "Darts of Pleasure" by climbing on top of Paul Thomson's drum kit. The blending of those two songs was the highlight of the show.
Expectedly, the songs from the new album You Could Have it So Much Better weren't received as warmly as those from the first album. Except for a couple moments, "Do You Want To" most notably, the new material sounded muddled and noisy compared to the sharpness of their debut. The show left me wanting to hear that album again, but with less excitement about improving my acquaintance with its successor.
Notes: Andy Knowles, the former touring drummer for The Fiery Furnaces, contributed drums on one song and keyboards on a couple others.