Franz Ferdinand Try Out New Material at Bowery Ballroom Show
So tired… remember how I said that Rufus Wainwright was possibly the gayest man on the planet? Maybe the members of Franz Ferdinand could collectively be considered the second gayest man on the planet–their one-off special gig at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom proved that they have taken hip swinging and overly dramatic drawls to a new extreme.
Tonight’s show proved to be a little lacking in terms of notable, fun moments. Sadly, the one “exciting” thing that happened was when the band came out for their encore, Nick gave a curly-haired girl in the front row a bottle of wine. About 10 minutes until the end of the performance the big security guard for Bowery came waltzing through the crowd, tapped her on the shoulder and proceeded to get this girl’s attention.
She kinda ignored him for about 30 seconds until she finally gave some sort of response. They started talking back and forth and before I knew it, an empty bottle of wine was passed up front and placed on the stage. All of this was occurring directly below lead guitarist Nick McCarthy (who seemed to be dressed up like a missing member of the Monkees, with his all-red matching pant and jacket) as he played. His brow furrowed more and more as he watched the events unfold in front of him, and when he saw that the girl was being asked to leave, he stopped playing, leaned over and tapped the security guard on the head and shook his head “no”.
That didn’t stop the security guard from presumably telling him that she had to leave because you’re not allowed to drink outside alcohol in the venue, and then escorting her out of the building. Nick’s face was painted with guilt for a while–it took about a minute or two for him to get back into the mindset of focusing on the music and just playing.
Oh and then a few minutes later, during the last part of the last song, Nick gave a nod to another girl in the front row, and seconds later, she had hauled herself onto the stage and was dancing around. 5 or 6 other girls followed suit, and the stage soon turned into a full out dance dance revolution.
My favorite new tune? “An English Goodbye”
Read more at Musicsnobbery, Brooklyn Vegan, Music Slut
1. Anonymous | 1:28 am on June 14th, 2007
Good show but a little short. “Turn it out” (was that the name?) should be a big hit.
2. mamc | 1:28 am on June 14th, 2007
hahahaha, too right.
3. Insano | 5:56 am on June 14th, 2007
Over rated. Way over rated!!!
4. Crackers United » Franz Ferdinand | Bowery Ballroom 6.13.07 | 11:18 am on June 14th, 2007
[...] new synth-driven songs sound like tha bomb, especially the one right before the Encore. Reviews: 1/2/3/4 (live [...]
5. Anonymous | 5:44 pm on June 14th, 2007
Quick note. It was Nick who gave the girl a bottle of Scotch.
6. laura | 6:02 pm on June 14th, 2007
thanks. fixed.
7. Gothamist’s Week in Rock, Volume 24 at | 4:06 pm on June 15th, 2007
[...] Franz Ferdinand, Disco Cowboys? Don’t get us wrong, Franz Ferdinand were at the top of their game in playing the intimate Bowery Ballroom this week as a special one-off concert. They seemed as genuinely excited to play the small room as the lucky fans who were in attendance. But there were three main points that jumped out at us watching them play. First, “Take Me Out” still shines as one of the best rock songs of the decade, despite being played to death three summers ago. Second, the new material had a surprising disco flair to it that was generally pretty great. One standout track towards the end of the main set sounded like a future surefire hit we can’t wait to hear a finished version of. And third…how bout those outfits? Alex Kapranos came out in his patented tight and tailored trousers and…some sort of red and white polyester rodeo shirt that made him look more like Buck Swope’s stockroom manager than the frontman of a band. We suppose it’s all stylistically playing towards their new synth-heavy sound, which we think is a great direction for them to take. But perhaps they could tone the outfits down just a touch? The music will no doubt speak for itself. (Photo via The Modern Age) [...]
8. Anonymous | 4:34 am on June 17th, 2007
Geeze I really wanted to go to this and dance my ass off.
But I got my chance 2 nights later at the Bowery Ballroom.
I went to see Ike Rielly and caught opening act the New York Howl.
OMG so much fun, my thirst to have fun and dance was quenched.
I ended up leaving with the Howl missing Ike to dance some more at their secret aftershow at Mo pickens.
The sound was nowhere as good as the Bowery, but the engery was there.
They played and I danced til 4am.
What a howling good time!