Franz Ferdinand at The Enmore Theatre

Franz Ferdinand played at the Enmore Theatre last week. Here is my review (pictures by the delicious Daniel Boud and Cybele Malinowski):
FRANZ FERDINAND
THE TEMPER TRAP
RED RIDERS
The Enmore Theatre, Enmore
06/01/09

Local lads, Red Riders, were first on the bill when Franz Ferdinand played Sydney back in 2004. Playing the same slot more than four years on perhaps says something about their career trajectory and, while their performance was solid enough, it felt hackneyed and lacked vitality.

In complete contrast, The Temper Trap’s star is ascending at pace. The Melbourne five-piece (whose numbers have been temporarily boosted by a supplementary guitarist due to frontman Dougy’s hand injury) put on a thrilling display that had so much going on it was hard to take it all in. Their songs were anthemic and ambitious, as Dougy’s (below), nuanced, soulful voice soared over keys, guitar, bass, percussion, handclaps and three backing-vocals. Their instrumental set closer wasn’t only the highlight of the set, but the standout moment of the whole evening, as three drummers led a mesmerising tribal jam freakout which filled the room with imposing noise. On this display, 2009 may very well be The Temper Trap’s year."What a brilliant idea to wear a leather jacket to a gig in Sydney in January,” sweaty Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos joked about his attire, before launching into poptastic singles Do You Want To? and The Dark Of The Matinee. This high-tempo start to the sold-out, all-ages gig was maintained throughout. Come On Home and The Fallen followed, with guitarist Nick McCarthy leading the songs with infectious riffs galore, all the while bopping around with a jolty guitar action, like a robotic Marty McFly.

Take Me Out was discarded early, which suggests the Brits are (understandably) bored of playing it. Though the years have tired it a little, it is still fun slice of pop. With its squishy synths, Ulysses displayed the dancier nature of their upcoming album, and even made their older, angular guitar tracks sound slightly flimsy in comparison. Meanwhile, potential future single No You Girls bridged the gap in sound between their older and newer material.

Michael and This Fire ended the jaunty set with a bang. However, while the well-known songs were enjoyable in a singalong kind of way and had the crowd jumping, it was the new tunes that really stood out and showed, three albums in, that Franz Ferdinand aren’t afraid to branch out in interesting new directions.