Megan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ferrumaeternum) wrote2009-05-02 03:18 am
ferrumaeternum) wrote2009-05-02 03:18 am
Entry tags:
Franz Ferdinand!
My mom decided to tag along and use the free tickets we got at Morrissey and chill at the bar with her discounted 7 and 7 and Bailey’s drinks on Wednesday night. I am very much looking forward to the end of summer when I’ll finally be old enough to take advantage of this deal. A ticket to the show and two full-size drinks for $25? I’m on it! Believe it or not, we still managed to get there 45 minutes early after my mom took a wrong turn, ended up on the freeway going in the opposite direction, got off and got lost on the north side, and finally made it back to downtown all because you couldn’t make a left onto the street the venue is on. Good Lord! I was just grateful I had a ride and didn’t have to waste an hour round trip taking the bus. The good news is I still got a spot in the second row, a bit off to the left side.
The opening band was Born Ruffians, who are from Canada. Before the show, I had never listened to them and only knew that they were an indie/alternative band. Overall, I’d say their performance was so-so. The guys looked about my age and are a fairly new band, so I wasn’t expecting them to be perfect, but there were a few too many incidents. During the first song, one of their bassist’s strings broke. It looked like he had a five-string and the lowest one came loose, but even if it wasn’t, a good guitarist should know how to play alternate notes and chords to get by. He even tried to change the string during the middle of a song! During another song, their vocalist/guitarist tried to create feedback, but only got horrible squealing. His mike stand also fell over onto him and one of his mikes didn’t even work. There were still more technical problems where the entire band had to wait for another member to be ready before continuing with a song. Their overall sound was influenced by folk rock and their vocalist reminded me of Bob Dylan but with a stronger, clearer, and more commercially appealing voice. He also had a lovely, big hollow body Epiphone. I was digging the syncopation and time signature and tempo changes they used, but that was about it. Most of their songs sounded the same, and although they had a strong drummer, his rhythms were just too repetitive. He also made intentional screeching sounds on his cymbal, which I didn’t know what the hell was happening at first and just wasn’t working artistically. I could hardly hear anything coming from their second guitarist/keyboardist, even though he was standing two feet in front of me. In fact, the sound of the entire band was very muddled. I don’t know if it was a result of cheap equipment or techs (or lack thereof) that just didn’t know what they were doing when they set up. The highlight of their set was when they invited Paul from Franz Ferdinand to come and play drums during one of their last songs. Their last song was almost comical as their bassist did these half-assed, out of place growled vocals. So bizarre. Born Ruffians weren’t too painful to listen to, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to listen to them again.
It took half an hour for Franz’s equipment to get set up, and the wait was so worth it. Their sound was incredibly loud and clear – even when the entire crowd was shouting the lyrics. I’ve never felt my entire skeleton vibrate to the bass, including the times I’ve sat in front of timpanis and concert bass drums. I could mainly feel it in my ribs and sternum as it beat along with my heart. I haven’t felt this alive since I saw Morrissey, and even then, it wasn’t quite to this degree. This was by far one of the top three shows I’ve ever been to. I’m a pretty big fan of the band and consider them to be an important band for my generation, so it takes a lot to surprise me, and they achieved just that.
Although it’s a bit shaky at first, this is the best video from the show I found on YouTube of the awesome intro and “No You Girls”. I’m the one with the hands up, clapping in front of Nick.
I was so shocked when they first came out and saw Nick hobbling on crutches with his foot and leg in a boot. I had no idea he got hurt during the tour! Despite this, he still had great stage presence by just barely leaning on the chair. He even made his way over with Alex to Paul’s drum kit where the three of them and another person were simultaneously drumming. Alex also came by Nick where they had a guitar battle right in front of me. They really proved themselves to be excellent musicians. Alex not only played guitar behind his back, but also played an old-school synth on the other side of Nick’s keyboard as well as the maracas. His voice was flawless and even sounded better while jumping around than some of the recordings. Paul and Bob played great as well, but I couldn’t see much of them as Nick’s keyboard and Alex’s body were in the way (not that I’m complaining!).
I feel I don’t really need to describe in detail how everything looked, since pictures have already been posted here. I really enjoyed the different videos playing during each song on the small LCD screens behind them. They even showed their video for “Ulysses” as they played the song. I also have to mention that I’m totally in love with Alex’s bright red patent leather shoes, short hair with longer fringe/bangs, and his vintage Great Lakes t-shirt. The world needs more men like him! Anyway, enough of my fangirling.
This was definitely the biggest crowd I’ve seen at any show in the club. They were also really well behaved. The only complaint I had was that the guy in front of me and the one beside me were playing air guitar and drums during the show, elbowing me in the process. Otherwise, it was great to be a part of an audience that was very enthusiastic about the band. There was a lot of pogo-ing going on, particularly to the beat of “Take Me Out”. Everyone was singing along and Alex did a long call and response session during “40’” with variations with the “la la la’s” and it was perfect each time. No one got bored or tired when the band encouraged us to rhythmically clap along. People cheered and whistled upon immediately recognizing the intro to any and every song they played. I was surprised at how much Alex interacted with the audience, including mentioning the two girls with faces painted like cats and the muscular guy who looked like Tarzan and ended up onstage during the invasion. He was very humble, and after he repeatedly said how “fucking insane” we were, he announced that they would definitely be returning to Milwaukee. “Lucid Dreams” was the climax of the show as crowd surfers from the front center were pulled onto the stage to dance and play instruments along with the band. Even the guys from Born Ruffians came out to jam during the epic synth outro.
Set List (the order probably isn’t perfect, but these are all the songs they played):
No You Girls / Michael / Turn it On / Do You Want To? / Live Alone / The Dark of the Matinee / Take Me Out / Tell Her Tonight / Walk Away / Bite Hard / 40’ / Ulysses / Jacqueline / What She Came For / Outsiders / Lucid Dreams / This Fire
I wish they would’ve played “Twilight Omens”, but hey, after 17 songs I really can’t complain. It was a truly incredible show.
The opening band was Born Ruffians, who are from Canada. Before the show, I had never listened to them and only knew that they were an indie/alternative band. Overall, I’d say their performance was so-so. The guys looked about my age and are a fairly new band, so I wasn’t expecting them to be perfect, but there were a few too many incidents. During the first song, one of their bassist’s strings broke. It looked like he had a five-string and the lowest one came loose, but even if it wasn’t, a good guitarist should know how to play alternate notes and chords to get by. He even tried to change the string during the middle of a song! During another song, their vocalist/guitarist tried to create feedback, but only got horrible squealing. His mike stand also fell over onto him and one of his mikes didn’t even work. There were still more technical problems where the entire band had to wait for another member to be ready before continuing with a song. Their overall sound was influenced by folk rock and their vocalist reminded me of Bob Dylan but with a stronger, clearer, and more commercially appealing voice. He also had a lovely, big hollow body Epiphone. I was digging the syncopation and time signature and tempo changes they used, but that was about it. Most of their songs sounded the same, and although they had a strong drummer, his rhythms were just too repetitive. He also made intentional screeching sounds on his cymbal, which I didn’t know what the hell was happening at first and just wasn’t working artistically. I could hardly hear anything coming from their second guitarist/keyboardist, even though he was standing two feet in front of me. In fact, the sound of the entire band was very muddled. I don’t know if it was a result of cheap equipment or techs (or lack thereof) that just didn’t know what they were doing when they set up. The highlight of their set was when they invited Paul from Franz Ferdinand to come and play drums during one of their last songs. Their last song was almost comical as their bassist did these half-assed, out of place growled vocals. So bizarre. Born Ruffians weren’t too painful to listen to, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to listen to them again.
It took half an hour for Franz’s equipment to get set up, and the wait was so worth it. Their sound was incredibly loud and clear – even when the entire crowd was shouting the lyrics. I’ve never felt my entire skeleton vibrate to the bass, including the times I’ve sat in front of timpanis and concert bass drums. I could mainly feel it in my ribs and sternum as it beat along with my heart. I haven’t felt this alive since I saw Morrissey, and even then, it wasn’t quite to this degree. This was by far one of the top three shows I’ve ever been to. I’m a pretty big fan of the band and consider them to be an important band for my generation, so it takes a lot to surprise me, and they achieved just that.
Although it’s a bit shaky at first, this is the best video from the show I found on YouTube of the awesome intro and “No You Girls”. I’m the one with the hands up, clapping in front of Nick.
I was so shocked when they first came out and saw Nick hobbling on crutches with his foot and leg in a boot. I had no idea he got hurt during the tour! Despite this, he still had great stage presence by just barely leaning on the chair. He even made his way over with Alex to Paul’s drum kit where the three of them and another person were simultaneously drumming. Alex also came by Nick where they had a guitar battle right in front of me. They really proved themselves to be excellent musicians. Alex not only played guitar behind his back, but also played an old-school synth on the other side of Nick’s keyboard as well as the maracas. His voice was flawless and even sounded better while jumping around than some of the recordings. Paul and Bob played great as well, but I couldn’t see much of them as Nick’s keyboard and Alex’s body were in the way (not that I’m complaining!).
I feel I don’t really need to describe in detail how everything looked, since pictures have already been posted here. I really enjoyed the different videos playing during each song on the small LCD screens behind them. They even showed their video for “Ulysses” as they played the song. I also have to mention that I’m totally in love with Alex’s bright red patent leather shoes, short hair with longer fringe/bangs, and his vintage Great Lakes t-shirt. The world needs more men like him! Anyway, enough of my fangirling.
This was definitely the biggest crowd I’ve seen at any show in the club. They were also really well behaved. The only complaint I had was that the guy in front of me and the one beside me were playing air guitar and drums during the show, elbowing me in the process. Otherwise, it was great to be a part of an audience that was very enthusiastic about the band. There was a lot of pogo-ing going on, particularly to the beat of “Take Me Out”. Everyone was singing along and Alex did a long call and response session during “40’” with variations with the “la la la’s” and it was perfect each time. No one got bored or tired when the band encouraged us to rhythmically clap along. People cheered and whistled upon immediately recognizing the intro to any and every song they played. I was surprised at how much Alex interacted with the audience, including mentioning the two girls with faces painted like cats and the muscular guy who looked like Tarzan and ended up onstage during the invasion. He was very humble, and after he repeatedly said how “fucking insane” we were, he announced that they would definitely be returning to Milwaukee. “Lucid Dreams” was the climax of the show as crowd surfers from the front center were pulled onto the stage to dance and play instruments along with the band. Even the guys from Born Ruffians came out to jam during the epic synth outro.
Set List (the order probably isn’t perfect, but these are all the songs they played):
No You Girls / Michael / Turn it On / Do You Want To? / Live Alone / The Dark of the Matinee / Take Me Out / Tell Her Tonight / Walk Away / Bite Hard / 40’ / Ulysses / Jacqueline / What She Came For / Outsiders / Lucid Dreams / This Fire
I wish they would’ve played “Twilight Omens”, but hey, after 17 songs I really can’t complain. It was a truly incredible show.