“Always Ascending with Franz Ferdinand” Gig Review. O2 Brixton Academy

Franz Ferdinand returned to Brixton Academy, still rising and always ascending. With two new additions to the band, the Glasgow boys have reinvented themselves and they put on quite a show.

Front man Alex Kapranos is not a lazy boy, even if he is now no longer the fresh faced floppy haired lead singer of the band that first burst into the scene back in 2004.  Older and wiser, with stylish grey tufts, he now resembles more of an elder statesmen of the stage,  Welleresque perhaps, yet boy he can still play. He strode the stage like the consummate performer that he is, Brixton loved it. He had all the right thoughts, right words and right actions.

From the dark of the matinee they came out of their paper cages. There were glimpses of love, then finally love illumination all round. This fire was becoming out of control, better that than slow according to Kapranos. No you girls,  don’t kill me slow he implored, but take me out.

All those that were there did not feel the love go, for they were lucky, lucky, lucky. Michael, Jacqueline, Ulysses, Huck and Jim, they were all lucky, so lucky, yeah. You wouldn’t want to walk away from a gig as good as that.