Franz Ferdinand @ Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom

Fun Glasgow rockers Franz Ferdinand made the audience at Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom  twist and shout last Tuesday night during their NYC gig, part of the US tour supporting new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.

The evening opened with the supporting performance of Casual Sex, which seemed a very appropriate choice. Casual Sex come from Glasgow, Scotland, as well, and posses a similar, yet a little more punkish sound. They just released their debut 7” on Moshi Moshi Records – a small, but prestigious London label responsible for Bloc Party’s Banquet and Hot Chip’sComing on Strong.

Second on the stage was Frankie Rose, who filled the hall with her dreamy noise-pop vocals and presented tracks from her new solo album Herein Wild. Before launching a solo career, Frankie made a name in the indie scene playing drums at Brooklyn alt-girl bands Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls.

With the crowd growing bigger and bigger, Franz Ferdinand walked on stage. The band put on a high-energy performance since the very first track Bullet – one of the highlights of their new record Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. It was followed by two of their biggest hits The Dark of the Matinee andNo You Girls. Franz Ferdinand’s setlist showcased a balanced mix of old and new songs, including many of their most well-known singles such as Take Me Out, Do You Want To, Walk Away and Darts of Passion. Even though their music doesn’t sound very diverse live and instead tracks float easily into one another, Franz Ferdinand delivered a wild, fun and very upbeat show and showed excellent scene appearance. Nick McCarthy switched energetically between rhythm guitar and keyboards, often with cool rock’n’roll-esque jumps, accompanying perfectly Alex Kapranos’ distinctive Scottish accent.

After playing Michael from their debut self-titled album and walking out of the stage, Franz Ferdinand were pulled back for encore, that finished by an impressing performance of all the band members banging on the drums. The only disappointment was not to hear Eleanore Put Your Boots On, penned for New York City.

Here is a video of Franz Ferdinand performing The Dark Of The Matinee during the show.

Review: Martina Dechevska

Video + photos: Ettore Lo Iacono