Last week, I had the chance to check out Franz Ferdinand’s Boston stop on their Hits To The Head tour. Franz has been smattered through my playlists since high school at the very least (I mark their entry in my life pairing with my illustrious 2014 Tumblr era), and though I’ve been a long time listener I’d hadn’t the chance to catch one of their live shows until now (huge mistake on my part, I know).
Supporting Franz Ferdinand on this leg are Boston natives, Vundabar. I really enjoyed Vundabar’s set; their sound is somewhere in the intersection of indie and surf rock, with a hint of post-punk thrown in there as a treat. They played a short-but-sweet set for the hometown crowd, and left me frantically adding a healthy dose of their tracks to my August playlist between sets. The group has three headlining shows set for next month (two in Massachusetts and one in Vermont), so if you have the chance to catch them any time soon I highly recommend going for it!
Then it was time for Franz. Franz Ferdinand put on one of the most animated and acrobatic sets I’ve seen in quite some time. Frontman Alex Kapranos spent almost the entire set in motion, as he jumped and kicked across the stage with a seemingly endless supply of energy. Musically, the band sounded as good if not better than their recorded tracks, bringing an extra level of vigor and life to their entire catalog.
Though the tour is named after the groups’ album Hits to the Head, the set was an all-encompassing look at what Franz Ferdinand has to offer, including a few tracks off their self-titled album (as well as Right Words, Right Thoughts, Right Action and You Could Have It So Much Better), and mega-hits “Do You Want To” and “Take Me Out.”
All and all, Franz Ferdinand and Vundabar put on an excellent night of music that both brought me back to my tumblr days in the early 2010s, and had me excited for what the future holds for the two acts, and what could be better than that. If the tour is coming to a city near you, I can’t recommend checking it out enough, they still have a few dates on the West Coast before they head out for their European leg!
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