Franz Ferdinand with Frankie Rose, last night at the Granada
Walking into the Granada last night, you would have never known it was a sleepy Tuesday, or that Vampire Weekend was playing a large show in KC on the same night. This crowd was ready to dance, damnit.
Brooklyn’s Frankie Rose has wandered a bit from her garage rock beginnings in Vivian Girls, but her on-stage charisma has remains unflappable. Her music now leans pop, with lush harmonies and smooth rhythms, and features enough crunchy guitar solos to remain a good pairing for Franz Ferdinand. It doesn’t hurt that she happens to be gorgeous as well – you could feel more than a few of the men (and women) in the audience hanging on her every word. “This is fun,” she noted about playing in Kansas. “More fun than I thought it would be. I thought it would be scary.”
Franz Ferdinand also had nice things to say about Lawrence, shortly after taking to the stage with a blazing, fun rendition of “Matinee” off of their first self-titled album. Frontman Alex Kapranos waved out at the audience, then added “We got to spend some time in Lawrence. Pretty cool fuckin’ town.” The Scots had been seen drinking at the Jackpot Saloon the night before, which, considering its clientele’s mix of townies and college students, does pretty well reflect Lawrence. Also the cheap beer.
Franz Ferdinand is masterful live – Kapranos prowls and kicks across the stage as any true British frontman ought to, and he held total command of the crowd throughout the 90-minute set. The size and shape of the Granada makes it easy for the performers to really see and engage with the audience, which at times is lit nearly as well as the band. That audience was about as animated as any I’ve ever seen in the Granada, with maybe the exception of a Girl Talk crowd a few years back. They danced, pogoed, and clapped and danced on command.
Particularly strong was the performance of “I Can’t Stop / Can’t Stop Feeling”, which lets the band show off all of its core strengths – fancy guitar interplay between Kapranos and Nicholas McCarthy, Kapranos’ impeccable baritone, and Paul Thompson’s ultra-precise drumming.
The band returned for its encore to the lead song off of its new album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions, before closing out hot guitar-heavy with “Jacqueline.”
